Meemaw’s Refried Beans – Two Thumbs Up From A Picky Eater!

Refried beans and quesadillas came to mind for a quick dinner on our recent road trip to Indy. But when I announced the menu I was planning, our smallest grandson informed me in no uncertain terms that he does NOT like refried beans!

I took that as a challenge. (And you know this old Meemaw LOVES a challenge.)

Our entire family had gathered in Indy, and I reached in our son’s pantry to see if I could pull off a quick dinner without making a trip to the store. 

I found a bag of tortilla chips, and several packages of flour tortillas. I grabbed some shredded cheese too. I grabbed several chicken breasts out of the freezer and I threw them in a pan with some water and several chicken bouillon cubes to simmer. And I sliced up some fresh sweet red and yellow peppers and onions and sauteed them in a little oil. The cooked chicken, cheese and the veggies were the basis for my quesadillas.

I only found one can of refried beans, and I knew that wasn’t enough to feed the family members who would be home for dinner that night. So I began to see what I could mix together to stretch those beans into enough to feed the flock.

I pulled out a can of kidney beans and a can of black beans. I drained them both and rinsed the beans to get rid of the “stuff” those beans are packed in. Then I dumped all three cans into a pot and I let the kids mash the beans together. (Meemaw’s Tip: Letting kids “help” is a sure fire way to get them to taste the finished product.) We left those beans pretty “lumpy” so they would still have some texture. Then we added a large chicken bouillon cube to the beans and I added some of the broth/water the chicken breasts had been cooked in. I sprinkled in some cumin and some smoked paprika. Then we heated the mixture and tasted it to check the level of spices. 

Those beans tasted pretty darn good to me…but I had three little food critics seated at the table.

Little Sis is ALWAYS up for tasting Meemaw’s crazy concoctions, so I wasn’t really surprised when she informed me those beans were the best thing she had ever tasted. (She says that at least once at every meal!)

Then came the biggest test…her two cousins.

Middle Bro made short work of his bowl of beans…and the smile never left his face. (SCORE!)

But then the REAL test…Little Bro.

And the verdict? He’s now a bonafide member of the Clean Plate Refried Beans Club!

In fact, he like them so much he realized they would also make a great dip to scoop up on his tortilla chips. 

Yep…sometimes even the pickiest eaters can be convinced to try my creations. And it wasn’t long before those beans were all gone and we were off for an evening of fishing and swimming.

Life is good.

And so were those refried beans.

5 from 1 vote

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Meemaw's Refried Beans

Ingredients

• 1 Can Refried Beans
• 1 Can Black Beans (drained and rinsed.)
• 1 Can Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 tsp. Cumin (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika (or to taste)
• 1 Large Knorr Chicken Bouillon Cube
• Water (as needed)

Instructions

1. Dump the refried beans into a pot. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and the black beans and add them to the pot. Mash with a potato masher or a fork to desired consistency but leave some texture! Crumble in a large Knorr Chicken Bouillon cube and add water to desired thickness. Add Cumin and Smoked Paprika as desired. Heat and stir until bubbling. Add more water as needed. (If cooking chicken for quesadillas use that cooking liquid in place of water.)