Beans & Rice | mountpisgahsda

Beans & Rice - Beans & rice, Spanish Rice

Beans and Rice

Beans:

Beans are similar to pasta in the since that they are very versatile. They also make a great companion to pasta since pasta is so starchy and beans are high in protein and soluble fiber. Beans are also very easy to cook but are very unlike pasta in that they take so long to cook.

Cooking Beans:

Sort and rinse the dry beans. Cover them with water and soak them for eight hours. Drain the water and rinse the beans. Place them in a pot with three times as much water as beans and cook them in a pressure cooker or stove top till soft. Place a whole onion into the beans while cooking. A pressure cooker will take about 30 minutes to cook and the stove top about 3-4 hours. Make sure you don’t add the salt till the beans are soft. If you are using a crockpot there is no need to soak them over night just place the beans into the crockpot with the water and cook on high for eight hours.

Exceptions:

Lentils and split peas don’t need to be soaked (though it won’t hurt either) or pressured. They will cook till soft in about 2 hours on the stove top. You can also harder vegetables to them at the beginning of the cooking process. e.g. carrot, onions.

Types of Beans:

Black beans

Pinto beans

Soy beans

Kidney beans

Black eyed peas

Garbanzo beans aka chickpeas

Navy beans

Great northern beans

Fava beans

Lima beans

Split Peas

Lentils

Red beans

Seasoning beans:

Basil

Cumin

Paprika

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Olive oil

Sweet peppers

Italian seasoning

Tomatoes

Carrots

Yeast flakes

Soy sauce

Parsley

Onions

Garlic

Chicken style seasoning

Bay leaf

Preparing beans:

Cook the beans till soft. Saute or steam the vegetables of choice till tender add them to the beans while the desired amount of seasoning heat and serve. Use more of the milder seasonings and less of the more pungent. Don’t forget the salt.

Spanish Rice