Spicing up what you have

I'm sharing with you today something I've enjoyed knowing that has brought so much happiness and joy to my life.  I'll admit, it's kindof a weird post, mostly because it's about beans, but really it's about taking what you have, and making an effort to make it better - even enjoyable. 

So, a few months ago, my mom gave me an opened can of food storage that they had tried but didn't like. 
Dehydrated Refried Beans, ever heard of them?

Here's an inside look:

Just little dry flakes.  You're supposed to add water and let them sit for a minute.  We tried them once and they were kindof bland, and so they sat there for a little bit.  Then we figured out the magic missing ingredients: Chili powder, Cumin and Coriander.  They're what are generally added to Mexican type dishes, so we tried them once and they were delicious. 

My husband is the spice expert, so I let him mess with proportions, but he just adds a little of each to the dry beans before adding the water and then the beans are really tasty.  We enjoy using the dehydrated because we can make as little or as much as you want.  So, if you want some tasty food storage, try these. 

Now, we need to take this a step further.  We ate the rest of the other can awhile ago and I just recently got this new one, but I needed another way to get some refried beans, and I didn't want to go back to the canned variety.  Luckily I had these lying around. 

 A lifetime supply of dry beans eh?  WIC tends to do this to cupboards... they just take some time, but they too can be delicious.  I didn't photograph my own endeavors, but if you have dry beans lying around, grab a bag a pinto beans and make your own refried beans!  There's a great tutorial here and they are delicious. 

I love having refried beans handy without having to open a whole can.  They make for an easy snack with chips, or cheese and a tortilla.  And they're good for you.  Yummy.