eat this: refried black beans and avocado quesadillas

Hello TCL readers!!! I have recently developed a serious love/obsession with re-fried black beans. I’m not too crazy for them in regular form, but mash ‘em up in a skillet, and I am all over it. I had a delicious brainstorm the other day to combine my other food love – avocado – with the beans in a warm and crispy tortilla, served with fresh pico de gaillo. It was magical. I am actually craving more right now! (p.s. – today is bonus recipe day! I’m putting up my recipe to make vegan black beans as well!)

Ingredients: Scratch made black beans, vegan-friendly butter or olive oil, 1/2c vegetable stock, avocado, sliced thin, quesadilla cheese (omit for vegan-friendly & they are just as tasty w/o), tortillas, tomato, diced, yellow onion diced, cilantro finely chopped, juice from one lime, separate lime, quartered, smoked paprika, salt & pepper

canned black beans work fine too, but 1 – they won’t be as tasty, 2 – make sure you find vegetarian cooked beans, if you want to stick to a veggie/vegan friendly dish

Directions:

- In a large skillet, add a bit of butter or olive oil & heat over med setting. Spoon cooked black beans into skillet & simmer until bean liquid starts to bubble.

- Begin mashing beans with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. Slowly add vegetable stock if beans begin to get too thick. Stir and mash until beans reach desired consistency. Don’t worry if they are too thin, leave the heat on low until the liquid reduces a bit & the beans thicken back up. Taste & add salt, pepper or paprika as needed.

- Spread beans on a tortilla, add a couple of avocado slices & cheese (optional), squirt a bit of lime juice over the top & sprinkle paprika over everything. Fold in half & cook in skillet until tortilla begins to get crispy. Place to the side or in a  warm oven. Continue in this manner until you have either used up all the ingredients, or made the amount you want to serve.

- In a med bowl, assemble diced tomato, onion & cilantro, add lime juice & a dash of salt. Stir to combine & serve with quesadillas.

Made From Scratch Vegan Black Beans -

Ingredients: 1c uncooked/ rinsed black beans, 3c vegetable stock, 1 chipotle pepper packed in adobo, 2 tbls adobo sauce (less if you want to reduce the heat, although adobo is very mild), 1 small yellow onion, diced, 2 tbls smoked paprika, salt to taste

Directions:

- Combine all ingredients in a crock pot & set on low heat. Cook for at least 8 hrs. (I usually set this up right before I go to bed & let them cook all night). Test beans after allotted time for doneness & add additional stock if necessary. Taste & adjust seasoning as well. Place in an airtight container & refridgerate.

Enjoy! XO, Bridget from Love Peace Family.