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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Modern Staples: Beans, Beans, the Magical Fudge



Among the many staples in my pantry is a constant supply of dried beans. They are cheaper than canned, they provide all kinds of possibilities for our menu and contain those magic properties for fighting cancer and keeping us healthier. But, let's face it, they are beans and just how much chili can you eat? ....I don't want to know....

Instead, I'm going to try to provide some new options....for instance, today, we're going to make fudge out of pinto beans. And when you stop laughing, we'll get started....

1 15-oz can of pinto beans, drained and rinses OR 1 1/2 cup of dried beans that you have rinsed, soaked/boiled.
1 cup cocoa
3/4 cup, butter, melted
1 tbs vanilla
7 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (hey, it's homemade fudge! at least you can balance out with the beans so shut up)
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts are traditional but I like pecans myself)

Mash the beans with a fork until smooth in a microwave-proof dish (SEE! I'm not only giving you a cool recipe BUT I'M ALSO making it as easy peasy as I can!)
Nuke the beans for approx. 1 1/2 minutes until warmed through. Stir in the cocoa, butter and vanilla. The mixture will be thick.
Slowly stir in the sugar and then the nuts (no, not your family).
Press mixture into a 9x9 dish that you've sprayed. Smooth out and chill before cutting.

YOU MADE FUDGE OUT OF BEANS!! I like to think of this as one more way to give this crappy recession the finger.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Really???? It reminds me of my mother's chocolate zuchini cake..you know..just to use the zuchini.

Mrs. V said...

which isn't a half-bad way to use up some zucchini but actually the zucchini plays an important role is keeping the cake moist...which makes me think of a recipe I saw for chocolate cake make with saur kraut for the same reason....

Anonymous said...

You are definitely the kitchen guru!!! With the cake, I simply picked out all of the chocolate chips and left the rest.

Vanessa said...

Mom was telling me about this recipe and she kept saying "You wouldn't even know it was fudge!"

and I kept dying with laughter.

But seriously, I would totally make this.

Mrs. V said...

If you've been home for Christmas any time in the past couple of years you've probably eaten it-it's good! (although I definately knew it was fudge lol)