Incorporating dried beans into your family’s diet can save you quite a bit of money. You can use the dried beans to make nutritious meatless meals or to add valuable and inexpensive protein to many traditional dishes. At just pennies per serving, using dried beans makes a lot of sense.
I used to be intimidated by dried beans. I wasn’t exactly sure how to prepare them or how to use them, but using dried beans is pretty easy. While most modern recipes call for canned beans, you can substitute your own cooked dried beans in any recipe. Just keep in mind that a half-cup of dried beans is about the equivalent of a standard can of beans. The dried beans, free of preservatives will be healthier as well as cheaper to eat.
Dried beans can require a little bit of preparation work. Most of the time, you can’t just cook them 30 minutes before dinner is served. You can, however, cook a batch of them, divide the beans up and then freeze them. This way, you can add your own “canned” beans to your recipe and have your meal on the table in no time.
Here are the guidelines to preparing dried beans. First, sort through the beans and get rid of any shriveled beans or stones or sticks. Sometimes these things slip in to your typical bag of beans, although I don’t usually find any.
Next, place your beans in a pot and cover them with water. Let the beans soak for eight hours or overnight. In the morning, drain the beans and discard the water. Put the beans back in the pot and refill it with water. Cover the pot.
Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the beans until they are tender. How long you cook them will depend on the type of bean. For example, I find that Great Northern Beans only take about 30 minutes. Test the beans with a fork to be sure. That is it!
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