EWWW! (the refried beans in the crock pot) *Pam

[Guest guest]

Hi, Pam!

      A  long time ago, when I was a teenager, my brother (yes, my brother!)

showed me some cooking tips.  He is younger than I, but he went thru a stage

when he wanted to

try to cook everything and he actually got GOOD at it.  Dave, my brother, told

me while

showing me how to make some spaghetti sauce " from scratch " , that it's a good

idea to

have any spices you want to add, and add them a LITTLE at a time, even if a

recipe seems to say to add a LOT.

 

    In other words, if it's garlic, do whatever you are supposed to do with the

garlic (saute it, mince it, roast it, whatever) and then add it to your cooking

beans--a LITTLE...cook them a while, taste it, then, if it seems bland, add a

LITTLE bit more... Same with any other herbs, spices and so on.

 

     I've learned over time that this is a very good piece of advice, and it's

especially so when cooking in a crock pot or " slow cooker " .  Sometimes, the

seasonings seem to " fade out " when cooked long, and other times they intensify. 

Adding things in little by little and tasting it occasionally as it cooks has

usually stood me in good stead when trying new foods and new ways to cook

familiar dishes.  My brother's advice has been a great help to me over the years

and (not to brag, but...) a lot of people have told me that I am a pretty

decent cook!

 

      After reading all the posts about your refried beans, I got hungry for

beans, too, today.

I had a container in the freezer of the beans-and-rice that I love--which is

pretty much in flavor like a good refried bean recipe, just with rice added and

the beans aren't as mashed up. 

 

     I thawed out my frozen beans and rice--it was pretty OLD, in the first

place--and very bland when I tasted it.  I layered it in a baking dish with some

thickened (with tomato paste) spaghetti sauce, added a layer of a LOT of chopped

green (tops and white parts) onions, and then sprinkled some basil, thyme,

parsley, some ground chipotle pepper and some seasoned hot pepper " flakes " and a

PINCH of salt--then a sprinkle of shredded " quesadilla " vegan cheese, the ONLY

non-dairy cheese I really do like.

 

      I made a second " layering " of the beans, the sauce, the sprinkled-on

herbs, onions and cheese and then baked it all until it was nice, hot and

bubbly.  That was what I let my DH

" try out " for his supper--and he LOVED it!  I was so tickled, because I had

everything on

hand and didn't waste the " old " frozen bean dish, didn't have to throw out the

half-jar of pasta sauce, had a piece of the vegan cheese and a few fresh green

onions from my recent trip to the farmers' market.  It just all kind of came

together.

 

      Keep up the effort and I know you will succeed, Pam!  Beans are wonderful

and, once you get the hang of cooking them, you will go gung-ho, I know!  Many

good wishes for

your future bean-cooking success and creativity!

 

{{{{husg!}}},

Laura B., in Illinois (I love those beans!!!)

 

 

 

..... I have no idea what happened, unless it was the recipe. I'll tell you, for

one pound of beans it called for 1T of garlic, 2T of chilli powder, and 2T of

cumin. Maybe the quantity of herbs that I used are just toooooooo much for Den

and I. lol It was just awfull!!!!

I really appreciate your encouragement....

Hugs.

Pam