Beans!

How do you cook them?

I bought a bunch of dry 'small red beans' (I don't know if that's a real type of bean, or just a description of what they are) at the store this week, and they're in the crock pot with garlic, onion, tomato soup, tomato paste, a little salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. They're almost done, and taste pretty good for a first attempt.

I love beans, and want to keep them in the fridge for snacking--I plan to mix them with rice and then eat that instead of potato chips. These have decent iron levels, which I lack in my diet, and protein, which I also don't get enough of.

So... what else should I try?

When you cook dried beans, wait until they are tender before putting any sort of tomato in. The tomato can make them tough

Haha, too late this time. Next time, I'll do that, thanks!

A few (6 - 10) whole allspice and a couple of bay leaves in most beans will enhance the flavor.

I'm totally taking notes, thank you.

Don't for get to hold off on the salt until almost done or serving time. As it can also make them tough.

As far as eating ideas. You can add them to salads (greens and pasta), add them to rice, wrap in tortilla. You can also cook them up and mash them to simulate refried beans. Bean soup is always good.

It's not that good for you, (processed meat) but I put in ham hocks or shanks or smoked turkey drumsticks and beans which have been soaked over night first. Then onion, garlic, carrots, parsley, other herbs, whatever strikes my fancy at the time. Lol. And beef broth. (which winds up making it soup) Those are good tips about preventing toughness. I didn't know that. I love pinto beans a lot, but they're all good.

I like to make a big pot of lentils. I'll add chili powder, onions, basil, oregano and a couple bay leaves. I'll let them cook slowly until they are tender then hard a small can or two of diced tomatoes and let it simmer until it's thicker. Sometimes I'll add some broth and have it like a soup. But most of the time I like for it to have less liquid and be kind of like a meatless chili.

I call it my Need to live on $5 for food this week meal.

I basically did what you did tonight for dinner - black beans, muschrooms, onion, garlic & oil in the crock pot and then right before we ate (like an hour before) threw in some chopped frozen spinach. It was fantastic... but I don't know what el boyfriendo stuck in to season it.

I just put them in the garbage

Now I want beans! Plus, I love that they are uber cheap.

Everyone has great ideas! I realized that I haven't tried that many kinds of beans--I like kidney, black, pinto and lima beans, but I haven't tried many more than that. I need to expand my bean rotation.

PlottMom, that sounds amazing! I hate mushrooms, but my boyfriend loves them. I'd just have to pick around them, haha. (Luckily for me, when I buy them, he snarfs the whole package in like a day, so they don't end up going in much).

Navy bean soup is really good. Ham, carrots, onions, celery, a bay leaf, a few allspice, and I like to add some cumin. When they're done, add chopped tomatoes (canned is fine). I like cilantro so I usually chop up some fresh for garnish or even make pico de gallo (chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chili pepper and lime juice).

Rather, I used to, lol. Too many carbs now.