@jimmysco4u Another option is mashing up/blitzing chickpeas/garbanzo beans, mixing them in tomato pasta sauce, and serving on pasta (usually people use spaghetti or ditalini). Lazy pasta alla ceci lol.
I also like to make hummus pasta, but making homemade hummus from chickpeas is kind of a drag.
@jimmysco4u Tortilla soup is a winner for using lots of cans of beans. Also, I’ve learned you can refry ANY kinds of beans and end up with something tasty and healthy really quickly. All you have to do is put a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (if you have chopped onions or garlic, toss some in the oil as it heats), drain and rinse as many cans of beans as you like (we use about 4 so we can have some leftovers), add the beans to the pan and cook until they start to split. Mash them with a potato masher or stick blender. We usually add some veggie broth to make the consistency smoother. It’s fast, leftovers work for things like quesadillas or dips (or black bean soup), and has saved us a lot over purchasing cans of pre-refried beans. Tonight I’m refrying some white beans with garlic as a side for some salmon. It satisfies both my picky eaters.
@jimmysco4u I like roasting beans (chickpeas are my favorite) and adding whatever seasonings you like. I eat them alone but are easy to add to pasta sauces and salads.
I’ve also added lentils to muffins for added protein!
Sometimes rinsing beans and throwing them in the oven is the only thing I can manage at meal time.
@mendicant Yes please! Pre parenting I typically follow elaborate recipes that take a long time and I know I will need to adapt quickly when my babes arrive to some quick and dirty meals!
@mendicant These kinds of recipes are so important for us. Trying to be creative to get babies and toddlers to eat with limited ingredients is hard enough for one. For two…… just unfair.
@mendicant I’m struggling so hard to just find TIME to cook. Between my twins nap schedule and my 4 year old tornado, I can’t get in to the kitchen to make anything, let alone look up a recipe.
@mendicant Anything and everything. We’re trying all kinds of foods. The problem is, my wife, 4 year old and I eat at a different time than the babies. So I’m trying to cook a baby meal while entertaining them and prepping the adult meal I need to start cooking. Plus I can’t get out to the grocery store because I’m so exhausted that taking three kids shopping is impossible. It’s just a bit hard right now. I love your recipe ideas!
@mendicant I also agree that this stuff is probably best kept here than creating a new sub. Anyone who searches "cooking" would find these posts easily. Not sure people need a flair, but we could ask the mods if it's possible to creat it.
@job64 That’s a good point. I guess I’m just hoping to see more of them (I see stuff in comments but never really a dedicated post, you know) but I’m sure there are more if I search.
@mendicant We do a lot of "our food but plainer" for our twins. So if we're making grilled or baked chicken drumsticks, I leave a couple plain, cut up the meat, and give it to the boys with ketchup or bbq sauce for dipping. If I'm making pasta, I take some of the noodles, put butter and salt on them, and then heat up some frozen bite-size meatballs in the microwave and cut them up for topping. Crockpot pulled pork sandwiches but with less or no sauce. We do a lot of steam-in-bag veggies for sides. My husband and I both work full-time so I almost exclusively make stuff that takes less than 30 minutes or can be done in the instant pot or slow cooker.
@mendicant Thanks for the recipes! I like doing banana "sushi" - you spread peanut butter on a tortilla, roll up a whole banana in it, and cut into slices. My girls love it and it gets them to eat everything instead of just picking the banana off.
We also do a ton of mini muffins. I make a big batch and freeze them. And we like cold pancakes for snacks - I do a big batch and freeze of those too.
@cieralantonio8 We love the banana sushi, too! Sometimes we make "banana buddies", which is a half a graham cracker with peanut butter spread on it, a tall chunk of banana on top, and then chocolate chips for the eyes.
