Chili Pot Pie

"This is a great way to dress up chili for company. "The chili can be made the day before and refrigerated, then the crusty cornmeal topping can be added just before baking," says Mabel. You can use a variety of canned beans: kidney, pinto, chickpeas.

Jamaican Rice and Peas

Winston and Audia Barnett of Kingston, Jamaica, are volunteers for a Jamaica Tourist Board program called Meet the People, in which locals host visitors to give them a taste of island culture and cuisine, such as this classic side dish. Jamaicans call red kidney beans red peas.

Quick Tomato Baked Beans

Beans are a terrific idea for kids' lunches. Beans are low in fat and sodium and have fibre, protein, calcium, iron and folate. You can use black beans, chickpeas or kidney beans instead of the navy beans. Pack this with slices of baguette to dip into the yummy sauce.

Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit Wraps

Myles Smith from Notre Dame School had fun with the title of this recipe. You can buy refried beans in a can and wrap them with tomatoes and cheese in a tortilla for a satisfying lunch, snack or supper. Or, make your own "refried beans" using a can of your favourite beans - red kidney, pinto or black beans, for example. The recipe was submitted through the Orillia & Area Nutrition Network.

Field Meal Chili

Chili is a favourite in Joan's household, where a chili ingredient battle rages constantly. Joan prefers a mix of kidney and black beans, but Corey and the kids constantly lobby for canned pork and beans instead. On special days she relents, and you can, too, replacing one of the cans below with pork and beans. No matter which beans you use, any leftovers are even more delicious reheated the next day. A batch of this chili can also be the base of a mouth-watering Mexican Lasagna.

Toad in The Hole (Sausages in Pudding Batter)

Plump pork sausages, crispy Yorkshire pud and a rich onion gravy come together to make this family favourite.

An everlasting favourite of children, this dish is known and loved by most British people as sausages (the toad) cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter (the hole). But it wasn’t always so. In 1861, Mrs. Beeton described a version that used steak and kidney instead of sausages, while other early recipes called for cheap offcuts or leftovers of any kind of meat . The Art of Cookery (1747) even includes a recipe for “pigeon in a hole.” Sausages became integral to toad in the hole during World War I – perhaps as a way to
stop them exploding in the pan when frying – and the dish rapidly became a national hit.

Easy Bean Spread

Tasty in any interesting sandwich, this spread also makes a great dip for vegetables or breadsticks.

Braised Rabbit with Mustard Sauce

Fresh rabbit is available at many butcher shops and grocery stores. Because rabbits are small, you will need two for six people. Rabbit with mustard sauce is a classic of French cooking that is still popular in New France. Thanks to Andrew Chase for this recipe.

Mediterranean Penne

Tuna and Bean Salad

It can get boring sending a sandwich every day for lunch so turn to hearty salads, such as this one, for a change. Send along a whole wheat pita pocket and a spoon so your child can scoop this tasty salad into the pita.