PSA: My roommate once told me I could stretch ground beef by adding a can of refried beans

I tried it for taco night (she swore by it) and honestly, it turned out way better than I expected - the beans made it way fluffier and it cost me like $1.50 less per pound. Has anyone else got a weird kitchen hack that actually saved them cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

james9951mo ago

Heard a story from my buddy Mark who does this with leftover spaghetti sauce. He pours it over a brick of frozen spinach and lets it thaw in the pan, ends up with this hearty sauce that covers way more pasta than usual. @lindahunt your peanut butter chili reminds me of his wife threatening to lock him out of the kitchen if he tried it again. She gave in once she saw the grocery bill drop by a few bucks though. Works good enough that he claims he'll never make sauce without it again.

lindahunt1mo ago

My own weird hack that people give me side-eye for is putting a spoonful of peanut butter into chili. It sounds GROSS but it actually thickens it up and adds this weird savory depth that totally works. My roommate caught me doing it once and she actually walked OUT of the kitchen like I'd committed a crime. Now she asks me to bring the "secret chili" to every potluck and I STILL won't tell her what's in it.