Days 17-20: Back to School

Scott restarted his MBA this week, so his first day of school was this Wednesday. He has class two nights a week, so it is just me and the boys for dinner, which doesn't particularly inspire recipe ambition. We managed to stay vegetarians, though. Good thing for mac-and-cheese!

We also had a fun first this weekend - Owen's first Friday night friend sleepover. I served them black bean nachos for dinner and they were so thrilled with the idea of a plate of chips for dinner with their own custom topping options that I don't think they noticed the lack of meat. Popcorn, pop, and Muddy Buddies (Chex covered with chocolate and tossed in powdered sugar), movies, Wii, and Legos kept them happy all night.

What did not go over was the veggie "sausage links" we tried this morning. Owen: "Mom, this does not taste like sausage. Sausage tastes like meat." He ate about half of it and hid the rest under his plate. So did Scott.

I planned my menus for next week and I will have lots of new recipes to share soon. For now, here's how I make my refried black beans, good for all sorts of dishes - burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, rice and beans.

Refried Black Beans

2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 small onion, minced
1 tsp garlic puree
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp. cumin, or to taste
1/2 tsp. oregano, or to taste
1 tsp. salt
a few grinds black pepper
1/4 cup veggie stock
splash of lime juice (or lemon juice if you are out of lime as I was!)

Heat oil and saute onion until soft and translucent (you want it really cooked so it mashes into the beans and your kids don't see pieces of onion, if that's an issue in your house). Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add beans, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and cook, stirring about a minute. Add veggie stock and lime juice and simmer until liquid is evaporated by half. Stir and mash beans with the back of your spoon until they are the consistency you like. They tend to continue to soak up the liquid and can dry out, so add more stock as needed. If you are making nachos with it (in the microwave as I did), they'll dry more, too.