Taco Meat and Big Batch Refried Beans Recipes

Step away from that packet of taco seasoning.  There is a better way to satisfy your taco craving.

My mother-in-law threw a bridal shower for me when Noah and I got married and she asked everyone to bring a recipe to pass on to me.  Mary gave me many of their family's recipes, especially for Noah's favorite meals.  Here we have a simple taco meat recipe (no seasoning packet required) and a re-worked version of their refried beans recipe.

Taco Meat

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large tomato chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes

1-2 tsp. ground cumin

1-2 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Brown beef and onion together (drain fat if needed).  Add garlic, tomato, and spices.  Simmer about 20 minutes.

Feel free to adjust seasonings to your own taste.

Noah grew up eating homemade refried beans while I grew up eating canned refried beans.  When we got married I learned how to make his family's refried beans.  After trying it out on my own, I questioned whether it was worth the effort.  The recipe required simmering the dry beans on the stove for ages until they were soft (and making sure they didn't boil over) and then you had to drain them and put some of them back into a pan on the stove so that you could cook them AGAIN.  You add the spices, oil, some water if needed, and then meticulously smash them with the back of a spoon to achieve that certain refried bean consistency.  I thought to myself, "This is dumb.  I don't have time for this.  No refried beans are worth this amount of effort."  I eventually started cooking all of my dry beans in the crockpot and that did make it a lot easier, but I still wasn't a fan of the second round of simmering and smashing.  Then one day I tried out the method below and it worked like a charm.  Noah scaled up the spice quantities for me from the smaller batch in the original recipe and now this is the only way I make refried beans.  It might be a cheater's way of making refried beans, but I don't think they taste differently from the original recipe and this batch is so big that I can make beans to go with dinner and have plenty leftover to stash in the freezer.

Big Batch Refried Beans

2 lbs dry pinto beans (approximately 12 cooked cups)

1/8 -1/4 cup chili powder

1/8 -1/4 cup cumin

1/2 Tbsp seasoned salt

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp. garlic powder or a couple cloves of fresh garlic

Add your two pounds of dry beans (and a couple cloves of garlic, if desired) to a crockpot and cover with water.  Cook your beans until soft, about 4 hours on high or 8-ish hours on low.  Drain your beans and return them to the crockpot.  Add the spices and oil to your beans and begin blending with a handheld electric mixer.  You will also need to add water to reach your desired consistency for your refried beans, about 1-2 cups of water.  Continue blending and adding water as needed until the beans and spices are thoroughly combined and you reach your desired consistency.