In my continuing quest for delicious, healthy, and cheap meals, I've been eating a lot more beans. Last night, I diced a couple of small onions, caramelized them in olive oil, added cumin, chili powder, and some minced garlic, and then dumped in a can of black beans (can juices and everything). I split the recipe between two small tupperwares, and K and I took it to work for an afternoon snack.
I got the recipe from Orangette, who also provided this awesome-looking doctored chickpea recipe, which I'm planning on making for lunch on Sunday. I appreciate how quick these recipes are--they're really "assembly" more than "cooking"--and how simple and healthy the results are. So in the interest of expanding my bean repertoire even further, I thought I'd ask my readers for further tips: what do you do with a can of beans?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Beans! Beans!
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15 comments:
A package of kilbalsa sausage, happily sauteed in butter, followed by rice and a can of kidney beans will make at least two meals and is completely delicious.
I don't usually eat beans unless it's in a cold salad, and I haven't made one of those in ages. What you made with your black beans sounds delicious! I might try it sometime soon. :)
Dried beans are a fraction of the price of canned - all you do is soak overnight and boil them up. You can do them ahead then pull out of the fridge/freezer as needed.. my favourite is curried chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
I mix black beans and rice with chicken broth (let the whole thing cook together) and cumin or any other spices I have laying around. It makes great tortilla filler or something to put on chips. And it'll keep for more than a week in the fridge.
Funny you should ask! I just made a ton of vegetarian chili with this recipe, Deb's 3 bean chili, found here:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/01/hibernation-fare/
It's so good and super easy. I've been eating a lot more beans lately too. They're cheap, filling, yummy, and a nice meat alternative ;)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cha-Chas-White-Chicken-Chili/Detail.aspx
white bean chicken chili. it's an amazing comfort dish. plus, you can use the spices and canned ingredients again and again. i usually tinker with it (fajita powder, red pepper flakes, hot chili oil, fat-free sour cream to top it off), but no matter how you adjust it, it comes out perfect every time... and cheap!
I love beans, and eat them often. Just don't go overboard, lest indigestion afflict you around coworkers, etc...
Ahh the beauty of the bean! It's cheap and super flexible to any concoction you may devise. Here's what I did with the last can of beans.
http://aunaptural.blogspot.com/2007/12/yummy.html
You could also do red kidney beans, Goya sofrito, and potatoes. Starchy but yummy and filling.
mmm... so many things! black beans, instant white rice, a scoop of pico de gallo from the local latino market = good main meal or side dish. white beans + decent canned tuna + parsley + vinaigrette = tuscan bean salad. or swap out tuna for tomatoes, same deal. chickpeas + potato + plain yogurt + curry = sounds like the favorite of many... 2-3 cans of any beans + canned tomatoes + beer + celery/onion/spices/meat if you want/etc = quick chili. now you've got me thinking...
i saw a recipe for cannelini beans and mushroom ragout..I've never been a huge fan of beans but this dish was delish! All you have to do is saute up the mushrooms in some olive oil, add the beans, some red wine vinegar, add some chicken stock and reduce. Sprinkle with S&P and you're ready to go. yummy!
I am married to a Brazilian, so the idea of canned beans has become something of an oddity with me. If you are up for it (and it's not that hard) you should look into buying a pressure cooker (at most $35) and using dried bulk beans. Every other Sunday we make a HUGE thing of beans. Prep time = 5 minutes, cooking time (unattended) 30 minutes. Then you freeze half. You will have more beans than you know what to do with at a fraction of the cost of canned beans with a fraction of the sodium in canned beans and they taste 1000X better than canned beans, trust me it's worth it.
What DW and I do is cook a couple pounds of dried pinto beans in the crockpot with a can of nacho jalepeno slices and a big chunk of turkey ham.
When dinner time rolls around, I can make a double batch (2 boxes of mix) of cornbread and we have dinner (or lunches) for almost a whole week. Tasty and good for you. Using the turkey ham cuts WAY down on the fat; you can't even skim any off once everything has cooled.
I do everything previous commentators mentioned. Also I have used fava beans to make falafels. I also have made bean dips with whatever beans we have. I like black beans to make dips.
Forget the canned beans. If you really want to save money, buy dried beans and cook them in a crockpot. Simple, easy, a fraction of the price of canned beans, and works perfectly.
Agree with all the previous posts-- black beans are also dreamy as a burrito filling. But the really interesting use I have is to run a can's worth of (unseasoned) drained black beans through the blender and use them instead of the oil in a brownie mix or chocolate cake mix. Perfectly tasty, almost undetectable, much healthier, and a way to get my vegetable-phobic son to eat at least one.....
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