Better Than Frijoles

Love my Mexican food. The Diner News just went out and it is filled with so many delicious Mexican creations. Not a tortilla one. Frijoles Refritos--the refried bean entree we all seem to either love or hate--eludes low carbers. I have seen a replacement made with eggplant. Can't say I tried that one. But I do miss them sometimes. I used to make 2 full pounds of refried beans in my pressure cooker. Those days are gone, but I missed them a bit.

Not long ago I was happy to see Kabocha squash among the produce at Sprouts. Glory be! And it spring not fall! I know right away this was going to be a grand experiment. I brought it home, pressure steamed it. and began to have some fun. Let me be frank. This is not refried beans. Not mock beans, not even almost beans. It is a dish unto itself, not just a cheap plate filler. I personally loved the flavorful bacon and spices added in. For those of you who are not huge fans of beans--no beaniness. For tried and true frijole fans, perhaps this will be a little too sweet for you.

Weirdest thing. When I eat this dish alone or with a fajita meat side, it does not taste sweet. I get the smoky pepper and cumin. Especially so after the first bite. But when I ate it in a taco salad, it seemed quite sweet. Must be some flavor hanky panky going on inside that salad. Still good, just a little surprising, that's all. The texture is perfect though, so it is up to you. Just stop trying to replace refried beans and think of something exotic and better.

This recipe is featured in this month's Diner News. It will be great along with the other recipes in there.  Want a glimpse?

You have already seen one skillet meal, but how about this, like the El Jefe? Or some flavorful fajitas?

Or a nice salad?

My Mexicali Meatloaf?

An amazing method for making 3-5 lbs of Taco meat at one time...

 Side dishes too...

and dessert?

Now onto that recipe as promised:

Better Than Frijoles

2 1/4 cups kabocha squash puree

6 strips bacon

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp jalapeno seasoning

Bake or steam squash until tender. Set aside to cool. Pan fry bacon.

When squash is cool, spoon the pulp into a saucepan. Add bacon drippings

and spices. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often.

Add crumbled bacon to squash and serve.

Serves 4 at 134 calories 4 net carbs 9 g fat

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