We all know that dried beans are inexpensive and good for you, but I always forget to soak them overnight. Isn’t it enough to remember to floss and brush your teeth, wash your face, make lunches, throw in a load of laundry, blah, blah, blah. Do I have to remember to soak beans too??? Sheesh. I know that you can do a quick-soak on the stove-top, but that just adds on even more kitchen time that I don’t have, so in the past, I would rarely use dried beans, opting instead to buy canned beans and let my dried beans in food storage sit there waiting, waiting, waiting in their 10# cans until I could get my act together.
No more waiting. I discovered that the crock pot really, really likes dried beans.
Sort and rinse your dried beans, place them in the crock pot, add a tablespoon of salt (yes, I know many sources say that adding salt to dried beans makes their skins tough. Don’t believe it.), cover them with water (maybe 5 inches over the level of beans? Or within an inch of the top of the crock pot. They suck in a lot of water.), turn the crock pot to high, and cook for about 3 hours.
1 lb of beans equals about 2 1/4 cups of dried beans.
I cook kidney beans this way for chili, chickpeas for hummus, pinto beans for refried beans, white beans for Tuscan white bean soup (on the menu this week!), and black beans for salsas and salads.
Happy Tuesday!
Tags: Dried beans
Portsmouth Ward Women 
March 15, 2011 at 9:16 am |
“1 lb of beans equals about 2 1/4 cups of dried beans” What did you mean? 1 lb of dried beans = 2 1/4 cups of cooked beans or 2 1/4 cups of dried beans = 1 lb of cooked beans? Or did you really mean 1 lb of beans = 2 1/4 cups of dried bean? I have those dried beans in my garage too, I think that i will start using them.
March 15, 2011 at 10:22 am |
I’ve got it, just like you said, 2 1/4 cups of dried beans equals a pound. Most dried bean receipes call for a pound of dried beans. We’re having chili tonight.
March 15, 2011 at 2:15 pm |
Sorry–I didn’t mean to be cryptic! Yes, 2 1/4 c dried beans equals about a pound of dried beans. Like you said, so often recipes that call for dried beans say “1 lb of dried beans,” which always makes me say, well, shoot, what’s the equivalent in cups?? Enjoy your chili!
March 15, 2011 at 10:43 am |
Ginger, Would you please post your hummus recipe? Thanks!
March 15, 2011 at 2:51 pm |
Hi Leah! Hope everything is well with you and yours!
Hummus is one of those recipes that is not an exact science for me. I usually cook half a pound of chickpeas then place them in a food processor. Add the juice of two lemons (1/4-1/2 c), a heaping spoonful of tahini, about a tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp salt (to taste), a glug of olive oil, and puree until smooth. If it’s too thick, I add some water or the cooking juice to thin it out. Sometimes I add a small clove of garlic, too. Often, we’ll cut up pitas, brush them with olive oil, sprinkle sea salt on them, and bake at 400 degrees until crisp to eat with the hummus.