Kitchen Stewardship

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It’s a bean-y week at Kitchen Stewardship!  We lo-oove Mexican at the KS household.  It’s the kind of place where we say, “Mild salsa?  Never heard of it!”  I usually have 5-10 jars on hand in the basement.

One of my favorite meatless, bean-filled meals is this veggie bean burrito that I learned from my friend Lindsay.  My husband, in typical fashion, always says that it would be better with meat.  It would also be more expensive and not nearly as good of a meatless option for Lenten Fridays, however!  This is my entry in the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods, Bean and Legume Edition.

Recipe:  Veggie Bean Burritos

This is really an any-time-of-year kind of recipe.  It lends itself perfectly to utilizing garden bounty at the end of summer but also fits with sales at the grocery store throughout the winter.  Since you can swap veggies in and out, it’s incredibly versatile and delicious every time.  I like to add red peppers and maybe some leafy green veggies like spinach or kale – just a smidge.

To make this recipe as frugal AND nutritious as possible, I do the following:

• I usually watch for mushrooms on sale, preferably organic since they tend to be about the same price as conventionally grown ’shrooms.
  
• I make my own tortillas nowadays so that they’re 100% whole grain.  (Here’s my recipe as part of the “Un-processed Foods” theme of the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods.)
  
• I chop and freeze zucchini either from summer’s bounty at the Farmer’s Market or from the reduced produce section when I see them.
• I always have green peppers in the freezer, too, from the summer or reduced.
  
• I cook with dry beans and make a BIG batch, tossing an extra cup or two in the recipe to add bulk and nutrition, then freezing any extra in can-sized portions.
• I choose jalapenos instead of the $1/can green chiles.  I just froze a bunch tonight from the Farmer’s Market, organic for $1.50 for about a dozen.  Huge savings there!
  

Sauce ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped ($0.25)
1 clove garlic, crushed ($0.05)
1 small can green chiles OR chopped jalapenos ($0.25-$1.00)
½ T. chili powder
¼ c. tomato paste (freeze the rest for the next batch) ($0.20)
½ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. ground coriander
dash cayenne
8 oz. can tomato sauce ($0.30)
1 c. water
[can sub 14 oz can tomatoes for sauce and paste.]

Filling ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped ($0.25)
2 ½ c. chopped veggies (green pepper, frozen corn, zucchini, fresh mushrooms) I almost always end up with twice this much, so I double the recipe, and a single batch of sauce covers it all.
($0.25, $0.25, $0.50-1.00, $1.00)
2 cans black beans OR 3-4 cups cooked dry beans ($0.50-1.00)
½ c. water
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
(+ about $0.25 for all the spices?  I’ve not priced these out yet…)

You’ll need 6-8 big tortillas for this one. (~$1.00)

To make sauce:  sauté onion and garlic and ¼ c. water or olive oil 5 minutes.  Add chiles and spices, stir and sauté a few minutes.  Add remaining sauce ingredients, mix well and simmer about 15 minutes.  Set aside.

To make filling:  sauté onion, green pepper, mushrooms in water for 5 minutes.  Add other ingredients; sauté 10 more minutes.

You can just fill tortillas and eat smothered with sauce, or put a little sauce in the bottom of 9×13 pan, put the filling in tortillas, top with more sauce and cheese and bake 15-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Super Foods:  5, more if you alter the veggies
Cost:  $5-6.00, depending on where your veggies come from
Serves at least 8 adults

This meal almost doesn’t need any sides, but if you like a little more on the plate, check out my Homemade Refried Beans or Mexican Rice and Beans for some great options.

If you want more great bean recipes, sign up for an email subscription or grab my reader feed so you don’t miss the big festival tomorrow.  Plus I’m always talking beans…

If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.

Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

Be sure to visit Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet for more filling, nourishing, frugal recipes.

I’m also linked into:

• Food Roots at Nourishing Days
• Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
• Friday Feasts at MomTrends
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Make it from Scratch
• Life as Mom’s Ultimate Recipe Swap – fav recipes

Hungry for more? Related posts:

1. Bean and Veggie Meal Plan Analysis no. 3
2. Bean and Veggie Meal Plan Analysis No. 5
3. Bean and Veggie Meal Plan Analysis no. 2
4. Bean and Veggie Meal Plan Analysis no. 4
5. In-Season Recipe Connection: Sausage, Kale and Bean Soup