This weekend, I had every intention of making pimento cheese to snack on while we watched football…until I opened up my jarred pimento to find it looking a little funny. Actually, it looked inedible. For a moment, I considered dropping everything to run to the store for an emergency pimento purchase. Instead, I decided to get creative.
I got lucky, because I had leftover BBQ Beans that I had made for a potluck. Those beans mash up perfectly for homemade refried beans. Between the cheese I had already grated (for the ill-fated pimento cheese) and the beans, I figured I had the makings for bean and cheese spread. All I needed was to get creative with a few other ingredients…
Here’s how I made the spread:
Game Day Bean and Cheese Spread (serves a small crowd)
Ingredients
- 8 oz of shredded extra sharp white cheddar
- 2 cups of mashed BBQ Beans (or 1 can of refried beans)
- 4 oz of cream cheese
- 1/3 of a cup of dark beer, optional (I used Breckenridge Brewery Autumn Ale
Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized dish. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve with tortilla chips, pretzels or crackers.
The bean and cheese spread ended up being amazing! I felt that the beer gave it amazing flavor (even if it did make it an adults-only snack). The beer is an optional ingredient, but I definitely think it’s worth adding for the flavor.
