Refried Beans

I've always loved refried beans - they're filling and they're tasty - what can be bad about that, right?

As it turns out, refried beans are called refried because they are first cooked, then mashed and fried in lard/fat to give them their characteristically smooth, creamy texture.

Tell me the thought of that doesn't just totally skeeze you out. Beans frying in lard - not my idea of tasty fudz.

I decided that if I was ever going to eat refried beans again I had to develop my own method of making them. Turns out it's so easy that I'm pretty sure a trained monkey could actually do it.

Seriously, no exaggeration needed.

So, next time you've got a hankering for some tasty refried beans to add to your bean burrito, nachos, taco salad, etc. try this instead of loading up at your favorite Mexican joint.

Your arteries will thank you.

Refried Beans

Makes 4 Servings (1/2 cup/100 g)

1 (14 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
kosher salt

Process the onion and garlic in a food chopper/processor until nearly pureed. If you don't have a food processor/chopper, throw on some sunglasses and chop until they're a super fine mince. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a 2 qt. saucepan until it begins to shimmer. Add the onion and garlic mixture and cook until softened, about two minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin, mixing until evenly distributed. Add the drained, rinsed pinto beans and add enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until water has decreased by half. Mash beans with a potato masher until they resemble your desired level "refried-ness." If still too thin for your liking, let sit over med-low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are as thick as you like. Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface of beans so as not to form a skin.

Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, I do not claim it to be exact - although it is pretty close.

1 serving - 1/2 cup/100 g

Calories: 81
Carbohydrates:15.5g
Fat: 1.5
Protein: 5g

Boiled Peanuts

One of Mr. TA's (I'm shortening it, Totally Awesome is just way too long for someone as lazy as me) favorite snack foods when he was a child was boiled peanuts. He often tells me stories about how he and his dad would get boiled peanuts from roadside stands in Florida. He's asked before if I would make them for him, but I thought it was going to be some long, arduous process that involved some crazy Southern secret ingredients. It turns out it's pretty much as easy as it sounds, boiling peanuts. Mr. TA said the people at the stands would sometimes have different flavors, curry, spicy, Cajun, etc. I haven't quite gotten that far yet, but I bet boiling them in some Tony Chachere's seasoning would be pretty bad ass. That stuff tastes great on just about anything.

Mr. TA likes to eat his peanuts just as they are - crack open the shell and suck the mushy peanut out - but I guess it's a pretty traditional Southern habit to pop the peanuts into a bottle of cola and chug 'em down together. I'm assuming there's some chewing of the peanuts involved in there somewhere. I was introduced to this crazy custom by my mother's husband, C. C's from Texas originally and has all sorts of interesting habits. C and I were headed somewhere on some road trip to do something (there are too many occasions similar to this to pinpoint exactly what we were all doing) and stopped at a gas station to get fuel and snacks. He bought a packet of salted peanuts and a bottle of Coke and proceeded to empty the peanuts into the Coke bottle. I thought he was a friggin' crazy person. Who the hell does that? Puts peanuts in Coke. That's just weird.

But, I was recently reading "Pig Perfect" by Peter Kaminsky and he also related the Southern custom of putting peanuts in cola. So I suppose it's not quite as crazy as I thought...

C made me try it before I nay-sayed it too badly, and it's really pretty good. Not something I'd go out of my way to try again, but I wouldn't kick Coke and peanuts outta bed for eatin' crackers, know what I mean?

It's extremely easy to make, and if you've got a Southern boy, or an East Coast man with Southern roots like Mr. TA, then these are really too convenient to not make for them.

Just make sure you drink lots of water. My god, what is with Southerners and adding unhealthy amounts of everything bad for you to every single recipe they make? There's enough sodium in these bad boys to bloat you up like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.



Boiled Peanuts

Makes 1 lb.

1 lb. raw (green/young) peanuts
1/2 cup kosher salt
6 quarts water

Boil the peanuts and salt in the water for about 3 hours, or until peanuts are soft all the way through. Pull one out, let it cool, peel it, and try the peanut after about 2 hours. Repeat every 15 minutes until peanuts are all tender.

These must be eaten same day, if not they'll get all slimy and smelly. If desired you can reserve the cooking liquid and keep the peanuts in the liquid in a jar in the refrigerator for no more than three days.

Sharp Cheddar Nachos

One of my guiltiest pleasures is nachos dripping in cheese sauce. I can enjoy nachos with melted cheese, and drowning in additional toppings - but my favorite is an ooey, gooey, spicy, sharp cheddar cheese nacho sauce. I'll even go for that awful stuff in the jar sometimes, I can't help it - I'm addicted!

So, when I saw this recipe a while back I knew I had to try it out. Of course, I'm one of those people who are completely unable to follow a recipe. Most of the time I start out with the intention of following it pretty closely, but as the recipe progresses I decide it can use a little pinch of this, or a dash of that. Sometimes to alter a recipe I know is going to come out faulty, or most often because I'm a pain in the ass and don't like to follow directions.

Drew's recipe was outstanding, but I couldn't help changing it up to suit my tastes. The result? Amazing. If you like nachos with cheese sauce I cannot recommend this recipe more. He really came up with a winner this time. Normally I wouldn't post someone else's recipe on my page, but because I altered it so much I'm going to switch it up and post my version. Hopefully Drew doesn't mind!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 cup evaporated milk
2 oz cream cheese
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, in small cubes or shredded
1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 jalapeno, minced

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over med heat. Whisk in corn starch. Slowly stir in evaporated milk. When milk is fully incorporated with no lumps add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Add cheese an oz. at a time, waiting until it is completely assimilated before adding more. When all cheese is added stir in the hot sauce and minced jalapeño. Taste and add more heat if you like. Serve over tortilla chips with whatever toppings you like.