You asked, and here it is. The list of recipes I’m using for the month. Since up until now I haven’t cooked a lot with dried beans, I’m trying a lot of recipes I’ve found online. So, keep in mind that these recipes are new to me, and I haven’t tried most of them yet. But if I have, I’ll let you know how it turned out.
The Three Recipes Everyone is Asking About
Everyone wanted my bread, tortilla, and granola recipes. So here they are.
Simple Whole Wheat Bread - A very forgiving recipe. Make sure you read the comments, because there are a lot of great suggestions. I used half the honey and substituted the bread flour with whole wheat bread flour and the whole wheat flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I only needed a couple of cups of pastry flour. And then I used olive oil in place of the butter. It turned out great!
Mexican Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas - I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the all purpose flour and olive oil for the shortening. I needed extra boiling water, because the dough was too dry with just 1.5 cups. They turned out OK, though next time I think I’ll try adding a little extra oil. The tortillas were a tad dry for my taste.
Megan’s Granola - Another very forgiving recipes. And read the comments on this one to, as there are a lot of great and versatile suggestions. You also might want to think of halving this recipe, as you will need more than two baking sheets to make the whole recipe. I found out the hard way. It makes a TON of granola!
Breakfast and Lunch
For breakfast this month, I’m rotating between pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs and toast, baked oatmeal, muffins, and yogurt with granola. I add a little fresh fruit and call it good.
My new favorite pancake recipe is from Susan of Nutrition Fitness Life. It’s the second one on the page (Whole Wheat Pancakes), and it is YUMMY!
I’m trying a new muffin recipe this week. Classic Bran Muffins. It has good reviews on Allrecipes.
And Amish Baked Oatmeal is a staple at our house. It’s my son’s favorite breakfast. Lots of sugar and oil though. I think I’ll try to cut back the sugar and add some applesauce for the oatmeal to see what happens. I like it because it’s easy, and my son loves it. I got this from my friend Julieanne many years ago.
Amish Baked Oatmeal
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups oatmeal (not instant)
Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs. Add other ingredients, except for oatmeal, and mix well. Stir in oatmeal. Spread in a greased 8×8 pan (I use a 7×11 casserole dish, and it works just fine). Bake 30 minutes. Yum!
For lunch we’re having sandwiches, tortilla roll ups, and mostly leftovers.
Dinner Recipes
When a recipe calls for canned beans, I substitute cooked, dried beans instead. In no particular order, this is what the Being Frugal family is having for dinner this month.
- Pizza with Homemade Crust - I’m trying the homemade crust tonight! Friday night is Pizza night, so we’re having this four times this month.
- Easy Tilapia with Wine and Tomatoes - I just buy whatever fish is on sale.
- Pasta with Clam Sauce - Not real healthy, but I have to cans of clams to use up.
- Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers. I may try to make Belles Hamburger Buns to go with them.
- Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans
- Chickpea Curry
- Black-Eyed Peas and Tortillas
- Bean Quesadillas
- Baked Spinach
- Asparagus Cashew Rice Pilaf - I may substitute broccoli for the asparagus.
- Black Beans and Rice
- Seven Layer Tortilla Pie - I love this one!
- Black Bean Lasagne
- Mexican Bean Pie
- Mexican Lentil Casserole
- Mock Crab Cakes
- Spinach Artichoke Lasagne
- Vegetarian Taco Salad
- TGIFriday’s Black Bean Soup - Love this one, too! We’re having it twice. I garnish it with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Parmesan Herb Baked Flounder - We’re also having this twice. My kids love it! I substitute whatever fish is on sale.
- Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta - Another one we’ve tried and love.
- Halibut Fish Tacos with Guacamole Sauce - I know you’ve already guessed this, but I substituted whatever fish is on sale. This week we had cod.
There you have it! My month of bean based recipes! Frugal, and (hopefully) tasty!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Let me know how the Amish Baked Oatmeal turns out with the substitutions. I’d love to try it, but the sugar part scares me a little.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
What wonderful recipes! Thanks!
I have a suggestion regarding beans. They’re so easy to cook in a slow cooker! Lentils, beans, you name it. Just put all ingredients in, add plenty of water and set to low. It’ll be done come dinnertime, and they turn out so good that way.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Excellent recipes! I’m definitely going to check them out in more detail and try some out!
Thank you for the mention with all these great recommendations. I appreciate it!
June 6th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
found your website thru carrie at chocolate, the other white meat. love your monthly menu and recipes. i can see i’m going to have to take some time and look thru all the interesting looking recipes. i’ve been on a frugal kick for awhile and am still getting the hang of the food stuff.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Awesome! I’m trying the bread this weekend. We eat a ton of sandwiches over the summer months, and this recipe should help us stay away from stores to stock up on bread. Thanks for sharing!
June 6th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
The only problem with homemade bread is that it disappears so fast! I froze the dough for the second loaf in the recipe, and I’m going to have to bake it tomorrow already!
June 6th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Thank you for posting these! I was actually going to research a hamburger bun recipe this weekend but now you’ve done it for me! Looks like a great recipe and these meals look too yummy. Hope they all come out great!
June 6th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I second the idea to cook the beans in the crock pot…it’s the best way! Toss in a little onion and garlic too, and mmmmmm!
Another thing: don’t forget to take the bits of beans left over and smush them up for bean burritos/chimichangas/flautas/tostadas, etc. It’s how I eat every day!
Beans and tortillas are so versatile, you can even take your homemade tortillas, cut them in strips or wedges, brush with a bit of oil and sprinkle with salt, and bake in the oven for homemade chips to eat your bean dip (aka smushed beans) with!
June 6th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
I am only taking exception to the black bean lasagna. Mine is better
Looks like a yummy month ahead. I much prefer to cook with lots of beans vs. meat so I am going to try some of these.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
It has been a while since I have been here. I liked this post. One thing I enjoy doing with leftover chicken or taco meat is using it for pizza toppings, heck even pita bread is good for pizza dough if you have some leftover pitas. Just take it easy on the sauce.
June 7th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
You’ve got some great ideas! We currently plan weekly but are trying to make the switch to monthly planning. This is a good inspiration and gives me hope that it doesn’t have to be boring.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Thank you so much for the recipes! I would love to come eat dinner at your house!
I can’t wait to try the granola. I think I will eat that with milk instead of cereal.
June 11th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Just sent the two links over to Trica at Blogging Away Debt she was complaining about the cost of eating healthy so Ithought she’s be interested.