Cooking with Canned Beans

[wyoDreamer]

My family has never cooked with dried beans. We have one recipe that we make, and I will say that Grandma's Baked Beans and Ham is one fine meal. However, beans are nutritious, cheap, store well and easy to grow, so I would like to be able to add more beans to my menu.

Anyone willing to share their recipes for using dried beans? What do you like to make with canned beans?

OK, I will admit to putting beans in my chili - wow, 2 recipes in my recipe box that use beans.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Beans in chili! Sacrilege, and definitely not the Texas way, lol.

Our fave is just a big ol' pot of beans cooked with some kind of smoked meat product (smoked ham hock or turkey wing) and served with a pan of cornbread. Not flashy, but really good.

 

[TexasLisa]

I am a Hoosier/Texan. We grew up eating chili with beans. My grandmother's chili is to die for! We also had Pinto Beans cooked with ham hocks.

Here is my recipe I use now:

1 lb. dry red kidney beans (I have used Pinto Beans)
2 t garlic salt
1 t Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 t hot pepper sauce
1 qt. water
1/2 lb fully cooked ham, diced
1/2 lb. fully cooked smoked sausage, diced
1 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper
Hot Cooked Rice

Place beans in a Dutch oven or kettle; add water to cover by 2". Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. Add garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute ham and sausage until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to bean mixture. Saute onion, celery and garlic in drippings until tender; add to the bean mixture. Stir in tomato sauce and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until beans are tender. Discard bay leaves. Measure 2 cups of beans; mash and return to the bean mixture. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

YIELD: 8-10 servings.

 

[flowerbug]

My family has never cooked with dried beans. We have one recipe that we make, and I will say that Grandma's Baked Beans and Ham is one fine meal. However, beans are nutritious, cheap, store well and easy to grow, so I would like to be able to add more beans to my menu.

Anyone willing to share their recipes for using dried beans? What do you like to make with canned beans?

OK, I will admit to putting beans in my chili - wow, 2 recipes in my recipe box that use beans.

saying beans around me is asking for it (check out TEG's bean threads for growing and a bunch of different varieties)...

the most basic thing i do with beans is cook them plain with water.

sort and rinse dry beans, cover with about 2 & 1/2 times depth with water, bring to a boil and then simmer (as low as you can get it to bubble a bit) until done, stirring every half hour.

when the beans are done if we are doing a big batch (once a month or more) we will drain them and pack most into quart jars and put those in the freezer so we can eat them as needed until they are gone.

most of the time these are mixed beans of a bunch of different kinds so they work for burritos, adding to salads or soups or whatever really.

when i make smaller batches of single beans it depends upon what kind of bean it is as to what we might do with them after cooking them. since i really like beans the most simple way of eating them might be with a bit of butter. i don't want much covering up the texture or flavor of them. cheese, garlic salt, spices might get used but not as often as i eat them more on the plain side.

for bean soups with ham, the basic ingredients to start with are the softening up some celery and onion and perhaps some garlic, then adding the carrots ham and dry beans, i don't add acidic things to this like the tomatoes until towards the end after the beans are cooked. using pre-cooked beans (like what we make in big batches and then freeze) is fine too since the texture isn't often that important. the beans go in as good filler.

for chili beans i have some smaller very firm beans which can be cooked for hours and they won't fall apart. they're my favorite chili bean. i'm not all that much into the common red or dark red kidney beans nearly as much as i am into trying the new varieties i can find just for something different. this is the same with the most common beans grown and used around here (Great Northern and the Navy Pea Bean (often just called the Navy Bean)) i've eaten so many of those already in my life that i don't mind not eating any more and that isn't because i don't like them it's just that there are so many more other beans to grow and try out instead.

this year i planted about 44 bean varieties. i'd plant hundreds more if i had the room and time for them. i can't grow out my entire collection each year nor the many experiments and new varieties so i have to figure out each season what i'm working on next and see how that goes.

 

[Britesea]

I don't do as much with beans these days, since they're not Keto-friendly. But I used to make a big batch of black beans in the slow cooker, and then mash them up to make bean and cheese burritos for the freezer. DH could grab one or two and take them to work. Since there is no meat in them, it was safe to let them thaw in his locker until lunch time, and they didn't even need heating up if he was unable to get to a microwave.
Refried Beans Without the Refry
Prep Time:15 Min Cook Time:8 Hrs Ready In:8 Hrs 15 Min
Servings 15
Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 3 cups dry black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 5 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
• 9 cups water or add some broth

Directions

1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

and then there's this:
Hopping John
Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
• 2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
• 2 medium onions, divided
• 3 large cloves garlic, halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chile peppers, juices reserved
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
• 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 green onions, sliced

Preparation:
In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.

CHILI BEANS BY THE QUART

This is good to do if you are canning something like meat and end up with less than a full canner load. They are delicious as is for a meatless meal or side dish, or you can add some chopped meat (hot dogs, ham, chicken, whatever) and reheat. (caveat: this recipe has not been approved by the National Center for Home Food Preservation)

In each quart jar, place:

1 cup dry red kidney beans
2 slices jalapeno
1-2 garlic cloves
1 handful chopped onion
1 handful red bell pepper
½ tsp salt
1 rounded tsp paprika
A dash of liquid smoke
1 rounded tsp cumin
1 rounded tbsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne
¼ cup tomato sauce
Fill with hot water leaving 1” headspace

Stir to ensure there are no air bubbles

Process quarts for the same time as meat in your area.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Every now and then we don't want a meat meal - but we love "burgers." On those days a black bean burger hits the spot.

Bean Burger

Ingredients

2 cups black beans, drained and mashed with a fork

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated onions

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 egg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Canola oil, for oiling grill pan

1 to 2 kaiser rolls

Arugula, for serving

Sliced tomatoes, for serving

Mayonnaise, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together the beans, breadcrumbs, onions, chili powder, egg and some salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Form the mixture into 1 big (or 2 smaller) patties.
2. Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat and add some canola oil. Cook the burger 4 minutes per side. Serve on a kaiser roll with arugula, tomato slices and mayo.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Awesome recipes!! I will have to give these a try.

Thank you for your responses!

 

[BarredBuff]

We are old time hill billies from the mountains, and there ain't nothing like soup beans.

3 c. rinsed, drained, and soaked dry beans
1 slab of salt bacon (I prefer a big ham bone)
Salt
Red Pepper Flakes
Onion Powder

Cook all day on low heat until tender, and serve with cornbread, fried potatoes, and wilted lettuce (lettuce, and onions with bacon bits and bacon grease over it).

I've always cooked beans as a supplement or as side dish. Beans in Taco Soup, Chili, or in Taco meat. You could also make refried beans with them.

I'm no cajun but this is great stuff too

Red Beans & Sausage Jambalaya Recipe - Food.com

This recipe comes from "The Good Carb Cookbook" by Sandra Woodruff, M.S., R.D. Depending on how hot I want it, I sometimes use tomatoes w/g

www.food.com

Just some thoughts!

 

[Chic Rustler]

shoot, we lived on beans when I was a kid, pinto beans.
beans and potatoes are good, especially in the summer when your working outside all day. heals you for the next day and prevents cramps.
we usually make a pot of beans and then turn it into chili the next day.

I can alot of beans using the no soak method. 2/3 cup of dry beans per pint, cover with boiling water, 1 inch head space and process at 10lbs for 75 mins. they taste as good as slow cooked beans from the crock pot.

 

[baymule]

shoot, we lived on beans when I was a kid, pinto beans.
beans and potatoes are good, especially in the summer when your working outside all day. heals you for the next day and prevents cramps.
we usually make a pot of beans and then turn it into chili the next day.

I can alot of beans using the no soak method. 2/3 cup of dry beans per pint, cover with boiling water, 1 inch head space and process at 10lbs for 75 mins. they taste as good as slow cooked beans from the crock pot.

I have a bucket of beans i need to use, this sounds like a great way to make it easier to grab a jar and heat 'em up!