Recipe: Tasty Beans (using refried beans, sour cream and cheese, Penzey's recipe)

TASTY BEANS

"Start with fat-free refried beans - adding a bit of sour cream and shredded cheese will dress them up quite nicely without coming anywhere near the fat and calories of the regular variety."

28 oz fat-free refried beans
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tbsp corn oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or 1 to 2 crumbled dried Cascabel Peppers)
juice of 1 lime
1/4 to 1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1 to 2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

In a medium heavy saucepan with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring.

Add cumin, oregano, garlic and chile peppers, and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.

Add lime juice, stir, then add beans. Don't worry about stirring everything together too quickly - the beans are pretty thick when they are cold. Just turn the heat to very low, cover and cook about 20 minutes. Stir after 5 minutes or so.

After 15 minutes, add the sour cream and salt, starting with the lower amount. Taste, and add more if desired.

Top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese, and serve with the Mexican meal of your choice.

Makes 8 servings
Source: Penzeys Spices