Dried Beans

Watch a video about how to prepare dry beans here: https://youtu.be/CEmJIG3_C-M

Crock Pot Black Eyed Peas

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds black eyed peas

  • 1 20 oz pack of fajita vegetables or pepper and onion mix

  • 1 ham hock

  • Chicken or ham stock to cover beans plus 2 inches (I use chicken base for this)

  • Seasoning of choice. I use garlic and onion powder, pepper and I don’t use much salt if any due to using chicken base. I also add spice blends based on my mood, sometimes greek, sometimes spicy.

Directions

  1. Place beans in a large bowl and cover with water plus 2-3 inches. Soak overnight on the counter.

  2. The next day, cut a ham hock into smaller pieces.

  3. Saute pepper and onion mix in 2tbsp. butter on the stove until browned.

  4. Drain beans,

  5. Add Beans and pepper onion mix to crock pot. Cover with stock plus 2 inches. Cook 6-8 hours on low until a bean flattens easily when pressed.

Pressure Cooker/ Instant Pot Red Beans

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons butter

  • 1 20 oz pack pepper and onion and celery mix

  • 1 pound smoked sausage cut into cubes

  • 1 pound ground sausage

  • Salt, pepper, seasoning of choice

  • 1 pound red beans

  • 2 quarts chicken stock

Directions:

  1. Turn pressure cooker to browning setting, melt butter and then brown the pepper, onion, and celery mix.

  2. Add seasoning to vegetables and cut smoked sausage into cubes. (Check out the video for the easiest way.

  3. Once vegetables are brown, add in ground sausage and cook until brown.

  4. After sausage is fully cooked, add in smoked sausage cubes and brown a bit. (The pot will be pretty full, so they may not brown much.

  5. Add beans and broth and cook for 90-99 minutes (Ours is not a brand name and it takes 99 minutes.

  6. Serve over rice. (Check out this video for how to cook rice: https://youtu.be/x7ZnOt5bxm8 )

So… Now that you have the recipes I will share with you some helpful hints for both and ways to customize. These recipes can be done with any type of bean just about. Black beans will take less time to cook as will lentils. You can even exchange the type of beans in the recipes. Black eyed peas do great in the pressure cooker and red beans do well in a crock pot. These recipes are very customizable. Change up the vegetables, seasonings and meats to your preferences. We put peppers and onions in almost everything, so we might be biased towards them. Beans have a mild flavor so you can customize to your particular taste. Sometimes if I’m cooking the black eyed peas for others, I won’t add the peppers and make them with just ham hocks or pieces. We are from the south so black eyed peas are a staple for New Years day. (Which to be honest, is pretty much the only time I cook them.) The red beans and rice get cooked for Mardi Gras and sometimes just on a random day.

Beans are an amazing food that get a bad rep. They have tons of fiber and when coupled with a grain, they are a complete protein. You can almost always find them in the grocery store, even when everything else is running out. They are very inexpensive, so they are a great option if finances are a struggle. (or if you are saving money for something more fun) The fiber in beans helps you lower your cholesterol. By using them as a meat substitute, you are lowering your carbon footprint with a plant based option. (You may want to leave out the sausage and ham if this is what you are shooting for.) The fiber and protein also makes beans very filling meaning that it helps when you are hungry and if you are limiting caloric intake. As for the gaseous emissions that we blame beans for, if you eat more beans, your system gets more used to them and you don’t have as much of a problem. Also, gaseous emissions are people repellant, which helps in a pandemic situation. They make it really easy to convince people to stay (at least) 6 feet away.

There are a ton of health benefits to eating beans:

  • high in folate

    • prevents birth defects, helps with energy metabolism

  • high in protein

    • helps repair and rebuild tissues

  • high in fiber

    • due to fiber content, it facilitates eliminating waste more quickly, which reduces your risk of colon cancer.

  • Helps with blood sugar regulation

  • fills you up for longer and so you don’t feel the need to eat as much

As you can tell, beans are a favorite nutritional food of mine, and I definitely don’t eat them enough, but hopefully all of us can eat them more often. Comment your favorite type of bean below!

Erin MercsComment