Beans and Tortilla

Twice a week at least we eat beans.  Mr. D likes them with milk and butter.  I like them with a little yogurt and if I have it, tomato and maybe a little cheese (beans and dairy make a complete protein).

Maybe you'd like to try incorporating this into your weekly menu.  It reduces consumption of meats (not that meat is bad but helps the budget a little).

Beans:

We have an abundance of dry beans, but my all-time favorite are Jacob Cattle which we grow in our garden.  I use 2 cups/8cups H2O.  If you soak overnight and discard the water they seem to be lots less gassy.  Into the pressure cooker then with a little salt and pepper and maybe a few spices such as bay leaf, basil, oregano, and maybe a touch of nutmeg.  I like a little onion and carrot in mine too for a little sweet taste, but Mr. D doesn't care for them that way so I "usually" don't add them.  If they have been soaked overnight the cooking time will be shorter (1 hour), otherwise from the dry state they will take 1 hour 20 min under pressure.  Once steam starts to escape that's when I start timing.

Along with this I usually make whole wheat tortilla (Kari from moosaidthemama.blogspot.com makes fry bread from this same recipe... that also sounded yummy.  This recipe I tweeked from a recipe I saw on samsmommy.blogspot.com).  I've made tortilla for a long time, but this is a great simple recipe:

2cp ww flour
1t salt
1t baking powder
(fluff together)
4 T canola oil (or olive oil)
3/4 cp water (warm)
(added at the same time)
Mix till all flour is incorporated, then split into 4 balls (at this point you could let the dough rest for a short time, but cover with plastic to keep from drying out).
Roll out each ball to a thin circle adding flour to keep from sticking.  If you're really talented you could slap these around between your hands like the pizza guys do to stretch them out till they are huge... not as easy with whole wheat flour as with white, but the dough will be soft and stretchy.  Shake excess flour off and place on VERY hot griddle... we have a cast iron griddle but the ideal place to cook tortilla is right on top of a kitchen wood stove surface.  The hotter the better... that makes the little bubbles puff up and brown quickly while the inside remains moist.  I place deli tissue between each as I take them off the griddle and cover them to keep them warm.  If you make a few extra tortilla you could make a bean enchilda dish with grated cheese to pop in the freezer and have another day.  Topped with cheese and green chili then baked till bubbly will make another really yummy dinner.

Mr. D likes his tortilla with butter, but I like to stuff mine so if I make big ones then I can wrap the beans and stuff up like a burrito.

OK.  I'm getting hungry now.  Gotta stop talking about food.

Whatever your favorite bean recipe... have some in your menu.  They are great protein, inexpensive, and good source of fiber in the diet.  :)

Have a wonderful day everyone.