This week I decided to make a big batch of beans, starting with Dry Beans. I wanted to have them on hand for soups, stews, refried beans...you get the idea! I've been working to stretch our meat budget and beans are the perfect way to do so! I found an amazing looking recipe on Pinterest from Eat At Home - you can find it HERE.
First, I started with my dried beans, which you can buy SUPER cheaply at your local market. I didn't pre-soak the night before (oops!) so I went on a hunt for a quick soak method. The method I followed can be found here.
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| Rinsed beans prior to soaking |
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| Ready to soak! |
Simply put, add your beans to a pot, cover with 2" of water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off heat and put on the lid. Let sit for 1 hour, drain & rinse. :) Easy peasy! Now, your beans are ready for the recipe you choose!
I modified the Eat at Home recipe slightly.
Here is what I used:
1 lb black turtle beans1 lb pinto beans
3 cloves elephant garlic, minced (my garlic cloves are HUGE and grown locally with tremendous flavor!)
2 onions, chopped finely
1 tbsp crushed chilies
1.5 tsp cumin
2 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper
11 cups of water
Instructions:1. Prepare beans using your pre-soak method of choice and add to slow cooker
2. Add all remaining ingredients on top
3. Cook on high for 6 hours low, 8 hours on high
4. Mash or keep them whole - your choice!
5. These freeze amazingly well!
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| mmm - cooking away! |
I chose to keep mine whole. I simply drained the liquid, added them to my freezer containers and popped them in freezer! Always use safe food handling procedures :)
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| All cooked, drained and ready for packaging! |
According to Eat at Home, "some types of dry beans have toxins in them, especially kidney beans. These should always be soaked first and the water discarded to rid the beans of toxins. A slow cooker isn't hot enough to kill the toxins without soaking". This is why I chose to pre-soak.
SO, now I have a freezer full of yummy beans with no added chemicals or preservatives ready to go!
What are your fave types of beans? I can't wait to try new combos!
Until next time,
Jess
