Creamy spinach and black bean flautas

Flour tortillas filled with cream cheese, black beans, and spinach are rolled and baked until golden and crispy for a delicious family meal.

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September is Hunger Action Month – a time to bring attention to food insecurity. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 1 in 8 Americans were food insecure in 2017. That’s 40 million people – more than 12 million of which are children – with a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.

The meals below were made with a budget of $5.50 – the average amount a family of four would have for a meal on a SNAP budget. We’re sharing these recipes today to show you how far these dollars go – or don’t go – and to encourage you to donate to organizations addressing hunger issues. Feeding America and local food banks are the boots on the ground helping feed your neighbors daily.

As a group, we’re supporting Feeding America’s efforts to end hunger. We are collecting donations for Feeding America here: http://help.feedingamerica.org/goto/FoodBloggers Will you forgo your morning coffee stop and donate $5 to help feed the needy instead? There are also many great local organizations fighting hunger too, such as Food Bank of WNY and many local food pantries.

For these falutas I spent a total of $5.64, including a box of yellow rice and a jar of salsa. I did not count the cost of salt. After making the meal I had two tortillas left, half a bag of frozen spinach, half a box of cream cheese, and 3/4 of a jar of salsa - so there is leftover food to put to toward another meal. 

 

I bought all my food at Aldi, except for the spinach because they were out. I ended up getting that at my Wegmans (and it was on sale).

Obviously prices of food will vary greatly on your location and your store. I live in the Buffalo, NY region (these are prices when the post was published in 2019). 

This is the cost breakdown:
10 count flour tortillas - .99
16 oz. bag frozen spinach - .79
15.5 oz. can of black beans - .49
8 oz. box of cream cheese - .79
24 oz. jar of salsa - 1.19
8 oz. box of yellow rice - 1.39
Total - $5.64 (.14 over)

Certainly you can serve this with plain white rice (I can get that for .99) and then it would have been under $5.50. Normally, I probably would have added some cheddar in the filling or maybe some onion or bell pepper, or served a sliced avocado on the side. All of these would be delicious additions to the meal, but they would have put me way over the price limits.

And, spices.... I am lucky to have a well-stocked spice cabinet, but I didn't add anything like cumin or garlic to the filling. It was still really good. The trick here is the salsa and the yellow rice. These are already full of flavor, so you don't miss spices in the filling. 

This event has been very eye-opening to me. I grew up in a rural area and for a time with a single mother. We definitely have struggled in our lives and have relied on assistance at times when I was young. We currently live on one income for our family of four. 

We don't need to worry now about where our next meal will come from or how we will feed our children and for that I'm immensely grateful, but we do need to live frugally and food is an area where I'm always looking to save money and stretch things a bit more. Beans are one way that I often make frugal meals or stretch dishes with meat.

Yield: 4 servings

Creamy Spinach & Black Bean Flautas

Flour tortillas filled with cream cheese, black beans, and spinach are rolled and baked until golden and crispy for a delicious family meal.

ingredients:

• 8 flour tortillas (fajita/medium size)
• 8 oz frozen chopped spinach
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, drained
• salt to taste
• your favorite salsa, for serving
• yellow rice, for serving, optional

instructions:

How to cook Creamy Spinach & Black Bean Falutas

1. In a medium skillet, warm the black beans and spinach over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot. Remove from hear, stir in the cream cheese until melted, and season with salt.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
3. Place about 1/3 cup of the filling into each tortilla. Roll and place the tortillas seam side down on a baking sheet (four per baking sheet). Continue until they are all filled.
4. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until the bottoms are golden. Turn and bake another 3-5 minutes, until golden.
5. Serve hot with salsa for dipping and rice on the side.

Created using The Recipes Generator

I hope you give these a try! Let me know in the comments below.

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Hunger Action Month Recipes

• Kielbasa and Vegetable Skillet from Kate's Recipe Box
• Italian Sausage Alfredo Tortellini from Intelligent Domestications
• Budget Beef Vegetable Lo Mein from Palatable Pastime
• Veggie Burrito Bowls from Simple and Savory
• Cheesy Black Bean Frittatas from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Creamy Spinach & Black Bean Flautas from Savory Moments
• Mindful Shopping, Cooking Frugally, and Helping Others from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Feed a Family of Four for One Day in under $16 from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Bean Pasta) from The Baking Fairy
• Sausage Green Bean Alfredo from Cookaholic Wife
• Sheet Pan Crustless Quiche from Frugal & Fit
• Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet with Buttered Rice from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Chicken Caesar Pasta from Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids
• Stove-Top Chicken Noodle Soup from Blogghetti
• Pepper Jack Quiche with a Potato Crust from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Broccoli Mac Kielbasa Casserole from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Hunger Action Month from the Foodette & Family

Thanks to Kate of Kate's Recipe Box for organizing this event!