If managing your food budget seems harder these days, Harvest Home has a trick for you: Cooking with beans. Beans? YES, deliciously easy way to balance your BUDGET while improving your diet! Beans can make a meal or stretch the meat in a dish without changing the taste. ( ½ cup of beans= ½ cup of meat) A great source of protein without the saturated fat and cholesterol of other proteins, beans are loaded with fiber, B vitamins and all those minerals that keep your body running well. Beans can get you the taste you enjoy, $$$ saved and a little more health to your meals!
Black beans, pinto beans, white beans, red beans, kidney beans, adzuki beans, garbanzo. With all those choices, it’s easy to add tasty dishes and more health to your meals while saving $$$.
Ways to add beans to your meals and $$$ to your budget
Use a ½ cup of beans instead of a ½ cup of meat in any recipe. The taste you want stays the same. Your budget and your health get better.
Make a side dish of rice & beans using different beans. Add small pieces of cooked veggies like carrots, onions & peppers. Try brown rice instead of white rice for a nuttier (healthier) taste.
Add beans to your stews and soups while you cut back on the meat
Half Bean Burgers; Help your budget and your health. You won’t even miss the meat: Make patties with 1 ½ cups of cooked beans or lentils mashed, ½ cup of chopped veggies, ½ pound of ground beef. Cook the same way you cook a hamburger.
Feed a family party with Dark & Spicy Chili: (Recipe below.) Leftovers last for 4 days and make delicious nachos or burritos filling
Feast on beans! Your budget and your body will love it!
Bean There, Cooked That
RECIPE: DARK & SPICY CHILI
Feeds a big party; left-over last for 4 days, delicious in tacos
INGREDIENTS:
1 Tablespoon each of ground cumin, dried oregano, and cocoa powder
½ Tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1 or 2 canned chipotle chili, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 medium size onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 bell pepper, stemmed and chopped
2 carrots chopped
4 cups of cooked black beans or 2 cans
1 can of crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
TO MAKE:
In a small bowl, combine cumin, oregano, cocoa powder, cinnamon and chilies (Caution: Add one chili at a time. They are very hot. You can add more, but you can’t take away)
Heat the olive oil in a pot. Add the spice/chili mixture and cook for about 20 seconds or until you can smell the spices. Add onion, garlic peppers and carrots. Put a lid on the pot and cook on low heat cook about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Stir every few minutes. Add a little water if the mixture starts to stick.
Add black beans, tomatoes and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 and ½ hours on low. Leave the cover off slightly to let steam escape.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cilantro and /or chopped scallions! You’ll never miss the meat!
NOTE: If you want to add meat, cook it separately and add in the last 30 minutes of cooking
TIPS AND TRICKS
COOKING DRY BEANS:
To cook your own beans (and help your budget) soak beans over night. Place beans in a bowl & cover with 2-3 inches of water. Pick through them first to remove any stem. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water. Soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. Soaking makes beans faster to cook & easier to digest. The salt keeps the beans of bursting apart. Salt again after you cook the beans if you need to.
OR View Video for shorter way to soak beans
Drain the soaked beans and add enough fresh water to cover plus about an inch. Check the package for the cooking time. It will vary with different beans. Check your pot of bean about every ½ hour to be sure they have enough water and are not sticking to your pot. Add more water as needed.
If you are seasoning beans, add seasoning about a ½ hour before they are finished cooking.
SEASONING BEANS:
Add garlic, onion & carrots in last hour to increase flavor of broth.
Seasonings to try: Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Cilantro, Cumin. Only add a tiny bit at a time, like an 1/8 of a teaspoon.
Quick facts about Beans:
One cup of dried beans = 2 to 3cups of cooked beans depending the bean
One cup of beans has 30% of the protein and 50% of the fiber you need every day!
A diet with beans in it helps reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
