Tostadas & Homemade Refried Bean recipe

Tostadas

I found a few recipes on pinterest and kind of threw them together, and this is what I came up with. This is a quick meal if you've made the beans in advance. The beans freeze well, so make lots and freeze in smaller portions.

Fat-free Refried Beans

2 lb. dry pinto beans (about 5 c.)

½-¾ large onion, roughly chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 Tbsp. cumin

½ Tbsp. dried oregano

Sprinkle of cayenne pepper

12 c. water

4 tsp. salt

In large crock pot, place all ingredients except salt.  Cook on high 5-6 hours, until beans are very tender.  Ladle out 4 c. cooking liquid; reserve.  Stir in salt.  Mash beans with back of spoon or potato masher.  Add reserved liquid as needed for proper consistency.  Can be frozen in an air-tight container.  Yield:  about 12 cups.

To assemble the tostadas you'll need organic corn tortillas, refried beans, cheese or cheezy sauce, chopped lettuce, chopped veggies, chopped cilantro, salsa if desired.

Toast tortillas in oven set at 400 until browned. Smear on the beans and let the kids take off.

Be as simple or creative as you want. My kids LOVE making their own. We especially love mixing the beans with cheezy sauce and chopped cilantro, and then topping with lots of veggies. Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Happy New Year! I'm back!

I have some super fun recipes that will save you time and money! Who here uses canned tomatoes regularly??????? Anyone?

How about potatoes?

Yep, that's affirmative on both counts at our house! My dearest friend gave me a new cookbook for Christmas. It's a vegan crockpot cookbook, and I LOVE IT! There were a few short cuts in the book that I'm super excited about, having already tried them out!

First of all, I found tomatoes for super cheap last summer...like $6 for a bushel. I'd heard you could throw the tomatoes in your freezer whole, so I did that with as many tomatoes as I had room for, but this year will be different! Cheap, diced tomatoes! All you need is a crockpot, some freezer bags, and of course, TOMATOES! All you do is rinse your tomatoes, dice and fill up your crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3 hours.

I have a crockpot with a timer, and it shuts off after the time is up, so I set it for 3 hours on high just before I go to bed. In the morning the tomatoes are cooked and cooled enough to put in bags. I freeze in 3 cup portions, equal to 2 cans of diced tomatoes. I promise you, your chili, sauces, soups taste so much better with locally home grown tomatoes then store bought!

Now, for potatoes! Scrub down your potatoes (regular or sweet potatoes) and place in crockpot (if you work, scrub the night before, place in your crockpot and turn on just before you leave for work). In 6-8 hours, low heat, you have absolutely perfect baked potatoes! Top regular potatoes with leftover chili, or have a baked potato bar. Sweet potatoes can be topped with butter, cinnamon and honey or agave nectar for a fun treat! Mmmmm!!!