...and Hello Flavor!
My sister-in-law Alicia shared the wonder that is dried beans with me a few years ago and since then I have a hard time eating canned. There is no magical, mystical secret; you just add seasonings while they cook and mmmmm. Delicious. The great thing is that they taste better and are cheaper, my perfect combo.
This is how I cook dried black beans, but feel free to try it with beans of your choice. Also, I use a big crockpot so I'm able to cook 2 lbs at a time. If you have a smaller one, only do 1 lb.
Incidentally, I LOVE cooking beans in the crockpot. It is so easy. I don't have to watch it or stir it at all. The hardest part about this is cleaning out the crockpot at the end. Nice!
Delicious Black Beans
Ingredients: dried black beans, chicken bullion (5-6 cubes), 1/2 a chopped onion (or onion powder), couple cloves of minced garlic (or garlic powder)
Super Complicated:
- throw 2 lbs of beans into a colander and rinse them.
- put them in the crockpot and add a bunch of water, enough to cover the beans and then more. Basically, there's the layer of beans and then an equal layer of water.
- throw in some chicken bullion, chopped onion and minced garlic (or powders) and turn that crockpot on high for about 6 hours or so. (do you like how exact this is?) Oh, don't add salt. The bullion is salty enough. Found that one out the hard way...
- Towards the end of cooking, if the beans are still a bit hard or if they're getting tacky/sticky/dry I'll pour in some more water. Let them cook until they are soft and yummy.
No need to drain these- you want a bit of that flavorful sauce in with the beans.
These are perfect for tacos, burritos, tostadas, enchiladas, or as a side.
What in the World Do I Do with All These Beans?!!
Now you have a ton of beans. What to do?
I partially fill gallon freezer baggies with these, squeeze all the air out, and freeze them flat. Then when I need beans I just break off a hunk and warm it up in the microwave.
Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI sort my beans before rinsing them. No matter how careful the bean-sellers may be, sometimes rocks and chunks of dirt can get mixed in with dried beans, so it's worth the time and effort to make sure you're cooking JUST beans and nothing else.
Maybe it's just that I'm still suffering from a childhood food trauma... I remember taking a big spoonful of my mom's chili and biting into a dirt clod. Gleah.
Have you tried the crock pot liners? I bought them with a coupon a while back and LOVE them. Now it is so easy to cook a meal in the crock pot and I just throw the liner away and clean up is done!!!
ReplyDelete