Quick Supper for Boys Who Like Beans

James spouted six teeth very early!

My little boys like to eat. What a treasure it is to sit down for 40-45 minutes and watch them slowly, very slowly, devour a plateful of grown up delicious food. I imagine sometime in the future, they’ll still devour platefuls of food, but not take 45 minutes. And okay, they’re technically my grandsons. (And for the record, Sam and his mom stayed with us this trip, and James and parents stayed with his other Grandma.)

Some of their dinner is shredded, for tiny teeth; the 16-month-old has 6 teeth, the 18 month only has 1, although the 2^nd tooth is budding! (Can you see it below?)

Sam’s still working on his teeth–we’re so happy he finally got his first one!

On Easter Sunday, we returned to our home after two big Easter dinners on the weekend, one Saturday evening, the other Sunday noon.

But I knew “grab it and growl night,” our normal Sunday evening tradition (everyone finds/makes what they want), wasn’t going to work for the toddler. His family’s custom, after all, is having their big meal of the day on Sunday evening—not a practice I grew up with, nor did I raise my girls that way. For us it was popcorn, sandwiches (maybe), ice cream or apples. Mom’s night off, mostly, other than making popcorn. The kids, after they got to be a certain age, always seemed to enjoy having a night where they didn’t have to sit down and eat the food that was set before them!

But this night my daughter and I pondered what I had on hand that would be:

• Healthy
• Fast
• Something Sam could eat (no popcorn for him of course)
• Something Sam would like

My daughter recalled, “You said you had more kidney beans, he really likes those.”

“Oh, and I have half a quart of canned tomatoes in the fridge left over from making chili that I’d love to get rid of,” I brainstormed. “That would flavor them and add some Vitamin C.”

So that was the plan and it turned out to be a great little dish for Sam. I seasoned the beans with just a little garlic powder, onion salt, and pepper, because I knew he enjoyed/tolerated those flavors. We served him about a cupful of the dish, not wanting to overdo the beans, because, you know …

But. I. Did. Not. Get. Pictures. (Of the dish, that is.)

Sam.

James.

Oh well, everyone knows what kidney beans look like and you’d probably rather see pictures of darling grandsons. If there are fans in your family of either pintos or the larger red beans, this might work for a very quick meatless but decently nutritious main dish with ingredients you probably have in your cupboard. Top it off with some quality bread (could make it into a toasted cheese sandwich), fruit and any veggie you like. Score!

Little Boy Beans

1 15 ounce can red kidney beans
1 15-16 ounce can (or two cups) chopped or stewed tomatoes
A pinch of garlic powder, onion salt, pepper—or to your own taste.

Stir together in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring frequently; lower heat and cook for ten to 15 minutes or as you wish. After 10 minutes the tomatoes had broken down a little and the mixture was sufficiently seasoned.

Even a drive through takes ten minutes sometimes.

Of course, if you have time and don’t have a starving little boy on your hands, you can doctor these beans further with even stronger flavors, any way you like, with real minced garlic, chopped onions, green peppers or hot peppers.

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In my book, Whatever Happened to Dinner, I talk about the various traditions of families for Sunday evening (or other meals). What is/was your family tradition for Sunday or Saturday night? Anything special? I’d love to hear!