When I was little, I remember my grandmother making homemade chicken soup. She'd be in the kitchen forever with the only pot big enough to hold an entire chicken. She made it seem so simple, but it tasted so good. Now that I'm all grown up, I decided to pull out my own big pot and make some broth. I hate copying other people's ideas, so I pulled out my cookbooks for inspiration. I spent a long time researching recipes, and they all called for chicken bones (which freak me out) and they required you to "skim the scum off the top" at various points in the process. I'm sorry, but I don't think the word "scum" has any place in a tasty recipe. Back to cans for me.
I'm not sure if it's because he's so active or if he just has a metabolism people would kill for, but my ten year-old has always been a string bean. Even back when we were eating processed food and fast food, the scale simply wouldn't budge for him. When he was about two and a half, his pediatrician simply said to let him eat as much of whatever he wanted, including junk food, just to try to get his calorie consumption up. It never worked.
We love mexican food, so bean dip and refried beans are pretty common around here. Unfortunately, the store-bought varieties of these classics tend to leave a lot to be desired. Determined to make an easy version that could double as either, I came up with the following recipe. We use it on our tacos and fajitas, in our chimichangas, and straight up with tortilla chips. The best part? You can use whatever beans you want. Love this stuff!
When I was participating in the 7-day real food challenge, I had tons of cravings for foods that were not "real". So I drew up this list and posted in right on the fridge so I had no excuses. Whether you are doing your own real food challenge, or simply trying to snack healthier, this should definitely help. Even though our challenge ended a few weeks ago, I still use this as a guideline when the cravings strike.
