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Published : September 04, 2009 |
Author : apronmama
Category : M. Food, Meals, Kitchen AND Recipes | Total Views
: 384 | Rating :  
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 apronmama
Mama to Ryan(2002), Robert(2004), Ted(2006), Clara(2008), Hosanna (2009), and Lawrence (2011)
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Soaking and Cooking Dry Beans
My family is learning to appreciate beans more and more. When I use beans in my cooking, I prefer to use dry over canned. They are a great nutritional and
monetary bang for your buck in the kitchen, and they make me feel like a pioneer - which is
always a main goal. Here are a few tips that I have found helpful as I have slowly but surely worked on perfecting my dry bean
skills.
MEXICAN DISHES
I have been
working on some different bean recipes that seem to be fairly authentic
Mexican. We LOVE Mexican food in this house, so this has been an
ongoing quest for me.
I
have started preparing a large bag of pinto beans weekly. We will have
dinner with them once a week, and a few other days we will have them
for lunches with rice and salsa. This is how I make them and they turn
out delicious!
I soak them overnight in my crockpot.
I put the beans in, fill with water, add about 2 Tablespoons of whey
(use vinegar if you don't have whey) and put the lid on. I don't turn
the crockpot
on. The next morning, I rinse off the beans in a colander, put them
back in the crockpot, fill with water, add a few bay leaves and turn it on
high. The beans are ready by lunch time. I drain them. Then I set aside
the beans for lunch and add some salt, pepper, cumin, and chopped raw
onion.
Yummy! Super easy, cheap, nutritious, and delicious!
COOKING TIP: NO TOMATOES
Don't
cook your dry beans with tomatoes, as they will not cook through entirely,
no matter how long they stay on the stove. My chili a few weeks ago
contained suspiciously tough kidney beans, and I couldn't figure out
why until just recently. The beans will still get soft, just not as
tender, al dente is the correct word I suppose.
So, when you will be making chili, or anything else with tomatoes, cook your beans first.
SUPER FRUGAL LUNCH IDEA
I always struggle with lunch, so I am always trying to figure out
something super cheap, and super healthy. I had a great idea this week
that went over really well with my little boys.
Dried lima
beans! You don't have to soak them overnight like a lot of dried beans,
they cook up in 1 hour, they are super healthy, and they cost less than
a dollar for a bag -- which will feed me and all three boys.
I
cooked them for 1 hour in boiling water, then drained them. I added
about 3 or 4 tablespoons of butter (butter is so good for growing boys
and pregnant mamas) added some garlic, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. We were in heaven. A hot, delicious, healthy, frugal
lunch for less than a quarter per person. Now THAT is frugal!
KEEP YOUR BEANS FROM DRYING OUT
Here is a tip that I have
found useful over the past few months when time is at a premium.
On
Monday, I measure out five or six cups of dry beans, and rinse them off
really well. Take the time to check your beans for rocks. I have found
small rocks in my beans quite a few times, so it is worth the extra
time to thoroughly check them over. Put your rinsed beans in your
crockpot, and fill it with water. Then I throw in a bay leaf or two,
and add about a tablespoon of both garlic salt and onion powder. I let
the beans cook most of the day on low heat, and then I switch the
crockpot over to low. In the evening I put the pot in the refrigerator,
and the next morning I put it back on the burner and set it for warm
again. The beans are warm by lunch time. I use my slotted spoon to dish
them out. I leave the beans in their liquid, in the crockpot set on warm, until they are gone, and then I
start the process over.
I kept finding that my beans would dry
out too much if I strained the liquid off before storing them. Nobody
likes a dry bean! This method has worked really well of us. We always
have nice warm tender beans - ready in the crockpot at any time. This saves me money and
headaches.
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