Beans and Rice Tortillas

For some time, I've been hearing that the best way to save money on groceries is to: 1) not have a meat every dinner and 2) eat more beans and rice. Neither option comes easily for our family -- Mark is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy and I have never done much with beans other than in chili. But I really do want to save money, and beans and rice are really incredibly good for ya, so here is my first no-meat, beans and rice recipe! We decided to smother them with salsa, sour cream, and cheddar cheese and fry them into quesadillas. Yeah, the no-meat idea is pretty hard on my hubby and I won't do it too often for dinner. But Karis loved them, so its a great lunch for the two of us! And its 100% healthy if you use home-made salsa and sprouted wheat tortillas!

Ingredients:
1 cup brown Rice
1 cup beans of your choice -- I'll be using black beans or kidney beans
1 - 1 1/2 Tbs. Taco seasoning
Tortillas
fixings of choice (sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, etc)

Directions:
For the rice: either just follow the directions on the box or, to be the healthiest, soak overnight in 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbs. yogurt or buttermilk. Bring to a boil, skim, reduce heat to low, stir in some salt and butter, and cover tightly, cooking on low for 45 minutes.

For beans: either follow directions on the bag or to be healthiest, cover beans with warm water (if using black beans, also stir in 1 Tbs. whey or lemon juice) for 12-24 hours. Drain, rinse, place in a large pot and add water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil and skim off foam. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 4-8 hours. Check occasionally and add more water as necessary. Season to taste once beans are soft and ready to eat.

Put it all together in a tortilla wrap with the fixings of your choice