During the 1928 presidential campaign, the Republican party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won” There would be a chicken in every pot…”
Hoover won, but seven months later the stock market crashed and plunged the country into the Great Depression.
Have you checked the stock market levels the last few days?
The current levels aren’t exactly inspiring.
To take my mind off our retirement going down the drain, I thought I’d share a recipe for our very own Great Recession:Â Beans in the Crockpot.
Did you know that using dry beans is all kinds of less expensive than purchasing canned beans? Even with buying organic dried beans I figure I’m saving around 43-50%.
Buying beans in bulk is much cheaper than in these little bags. But I just happened onto a killer deal the other day at my health food store and grabbed a couple of these.
Then there is the issue of BPA leaching into the plastic used in the linings of metal cans.
Yuck.
If you’ve never used dried beans, may I just let you know that they taste much better than canned.
Plus you can add your own fresh garlic and other seasonings.
But most importantly, making beans in your crockpot is easy. I promise.
First, dump your beans into a colander. You are going to want to rinse and sort them. By sorting I mean you will want to pick out anything funky looking. Broken beans, teeny stones (it happens), shriveled up beans, etc.
After rinsing your beans put them into a bowl and add enough water to cover the beans plus two or three inches.
I let my beans soak overnight on the counter in the winter. In the summer I stick them in the fridge.
In the morning rinse your beans again. The water the beans have been soaking in may be brown. That’s normal.
Now put your beans into the crockpot. Once again add enough water to cover plus a couple of inches. Don’t worry about adding too much water. You can always dump it out when the beans are done.
I like to add garlic and onions at this point.
However, you may hate garlic and onions.
Cover your crockpot and cook the beans on low for 8 hours.
Beans are done when tender.
Drain beans if necessary.
When your beans are cool, put about 1 2/3 cups of beans into a freezer bag and freeze! This about the volume you would find in a can of beans.
Beans will last about 6 months in the freezer and a week in the fridge.
Cool, no?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used beans to make a pound or two of hamburger stretch. Just cook you hamburger as usual and when almost done toss in some beans and mix really well. I tend to smoosh my beans up to help hide their presence.
(Cause I have a certain someone at my house that won’t eat beans unless they are very well hidden. Right, Reed?)
This technique works exceptionally well when you are using the hamburger in things like tacos, burritos, pitas, and sloppy joes.
Of course I toss some beans into our trusty Vita-Mix to puree for use in Parker’s blenderized diet. When I do this though I also add some butter or olive oil. Beans are pretty low in fat, and a low fat diet is not part of Parker’s plan.
I just pop the pureed beauties into a small mason jar (be sure to leave some room for expansion!) and pop them into the freezer.
The hard part is remembering to set them out the night before I need to use them.
Did you know that beans are an excellent source of fiber, nutrients, and protein!
And…..they’re cheap!
Still not impressed? Well, how about replacing fat in your baking using white bean puree?
Thanks for sharing! I love homemade beans and everytime I try to make them in the crockpot they do not turn out right. I will try your method. I have used a pressure cooker to cook them, but pressure cookers make me nervous sometimes. Thanks for the info!
I love making black bean soup in my crock pot. It’s cheap, easy & hearty. Perfect for winter. I add garlic & onion & sometimes peppers. Then I top it with sour cream or cheese & cilantro. We have the same crock pot & colorful bowls! Love mine.
Once again, you have me thinking outside the proverbial box (store). Definitely going to try this!!
We just finished off the leftovers from last night beans and rice. Pintos, with some seasonings and cilantro rice. MMMMM! My kids eat this as happily as they do “kid food”. That would be because they’re hungry when they get to the table, and they don’t get to choose. But they still ate it!
the Love Magnet loves beans and rice. We also like to do beans-n-greens in the slow cooker (use a ham hock or not) and serve it with cornbread. Beef and bean burritos (filling also done in the slow cooker).
Since I’ve gone back to school I use my slow cooker at least 3X/week. Dried beans at least 1X/week.
i have pinto beans in my crockpot right now
I find that if I soak them only about 5-6 hours, I get the most gas mileage out of them LOL