Beans!

Your shopping list so far:
1. Unbleached Flour - $4
2. Dry Beans - $1.16

Growing up, there was almost always a pot of pinto beans in the refrigerator. My mother used it for bean burritos (mashed beans and cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla) or bean chalupas (mashed beans and cheddar cheese on a fried corn tortilla). Both delicious, but you can do more...

A pound bag of black beans at the grocery store costs $1.16. Garbanzo, kidney beans, and pinto beans all run about the same price. This goes a long way.

And so many options!

Hummus is always an easy, versatile dish. On tortillas, in a sandwich, paired with a salad. It's always delicious, and can be fancied up for a dinner party.

Hummus

1 cup of cooked chickpeas (reserve some of the cooking liquid)

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Blend the chickpeas, garlic, and lemon in a food processor, gradually adding in the olive oil. Use the reserved chickpea cooking water to achieve the desired consistency. Once it is the texture you want, add salt and pepper to taste.

If you want to get real, you can use a couple tablespoons of tahini, but I find that I don't use it enough to justify keeping around. Likewise, you can add roasted red peppers, olives, or sun-dried tomatoes for variation. But I'm partial to the classic.