Refried Beans over Pasta Recipe

Quick and Easy

Quick and easy refried beans over pasta is one of my go-to dinners when I am deep into the planting phase of gardening. This is really an “unrecipe”, as I call throwing together something delicious, quick and easy for dinner.

This time of year, some days have me looking in the cupboard and wondering what I can throw together for dinner. Add it being warm, then something that is heavy if off the menu. When I am to this point, I am very good at inventing something tasty on the fly.

When I canned dried beans for easy meals, I can them in quart jars. That is enough for 2 days for my husband and I to enjoy. Being plainly canned, I can add whatever spices, herbs, and vegetables I please when making them for a meal. We top with cheese, whatever is on hand. Jack cheese is my  cheese preference, but any favorite will do. The pasta can be whatever you have on hand- spirals, elbows, tubes (forgot the name for those!) and so on. You need one pound of any pasta.

Refried Beans over Pasta Recipe

Put the pasta water on to boil. Once you add the pasta to the boiling water, salt it. As it cooks…

Drain the beans and give a quick rinse under cold water. Add to a large sauce pot. Mash with a masher to preference- slightly of to bits.

Put on the stove to medium-low heat. Add remaining ingredients. As it warms and melds the flavors together, taste and adjust your seasonings. If it is still a bit stiff instead of a pudding consistency, add a little more salsa. Once hot, turn down to low if the pasta is not done at this point.

Once pasta is cooked to your preference, drain well. Put the pasta back in the pot and add the butter, tossing it to coat. This makes the pasta not clump together and adds to the flavor.

Put some pasta in a bowl, top with the hot refried beans. Add the amount of cheese you prefer over the top. Enjoy!

Musings

The garden is all planted as of today! Yea! Photos will be coming soon. The peas and radishes are thriving, lettuce and carrots popped up today and the potatoes are slowly getting above their holes, about ready for their first “hilling”.

Today, I got the little corn patch planted, the green beans, zucchini and put all my tomato and pepper plants transplanted. I also replanted the few peas that did not come up yet, being way past the point of a delayed germination. Sunday, I am adding more onions and replacing the starts that did not make it. For me, sprouting the onions for planting was a fail.

I am really enjoying how the garden is working out for me. It is so easy to work in. Oh! Sadly, one whole bed of my strawberries kicked the bucket and few in the other beds did not revive. The way I saved them during our garden bed rebuild, I must of did something wrong- stayed in water in the shade too long or the replant went wrong somehow. I will replace them next year. I got enough growing now to have some strawberry shortcake a few times this summer. That is fine.

I know I have been gone for a bit. The garden and other facets of my life have kept me so busy, I have not paid attention to the website. Oops. Ah well. I hope you all are having a lovely spring. Summer is just around the corner! Hugs!