Since both my husband and I grew up in Southern California, Mexican food is a cuisine that is near and dear to our hearts. I serve it for dinner at least 2-3 times per week.
Making my own beans (as opposed to buying canned) is a great way for me to feed our growing family and stay under budget. Years ago I tried it, but we didn't really like it. I could never get the beans tender enough.
But, desperate times call for desperate measures. When I could no longer buy canned beans for a good price (<$0.50), I tried to make my own again. And it's working! The trick has been to mash the beans, like refried beans, and to season them well.
Plus, cooking them myself is proving to be much cheaper than fifty cents a can. The bag pictured cost $6.39 at Costco. At $0.64/# I can make the equivalent of 4 cans of beans for a lot less money.
Here's how to make a pot of beans yourself. It's best if you start the night before.
1 pound dried pinto beans
1 onion, chopped
salt
pepper
garlic powder
Sort through the dried beans, removing any stones or defective beans. Rinse thoroughly. Place in a pot and cover with at least an inch of water. Allow to soak overnight.
The next day, rinse and place beans in a crockpot*. Add the chopped onion and enough water to cover by about an inch. Cook 8-10 hours on low. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
We prefer to mash the beans slightly and season to taste with garlic powder.
*If you don't want to use the crockpot, or if you don't have 8 hours until serving time, you can cook them on the stovetop. Place beans, onion and water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover slightly. Stir frequently, adding water if necessary.
7 comments:
Can you freeze these? How have you done it?
I've frozen a similar recipe before - my husband holds open a ziploc bag and I scoop the beans in. For easy storage we use quart size bags (about 4 small servings or 4 burrito fillings worth) and smoosh 'em flat after zipping them up. I then stack up my bean packets in the freezer. They come out great from the freezer.
I even freeze homemade refried beans in ice cube trays so I can get just a little bit out for lunchtime quesadillas, or whatever.
This is great! We've been on a refried bean kick lately and I'd love to save $$ on that.
~Jessika
I've made these beans twice now. The first time I did not drain them after cooking. They were a little too watery. The second time I made them I did drain them before mashing and they came out just perfect. Perhaps it would be helpful to mention in the recipe that the beans could be drained after cooking.
A friend who's hubby is hispanic taught me to just use onion powder instead of chopped onion. It saves money and tastes great.
Also, if you add another inch or two of water and season the pot well, you can save the broth after they are cooked to add back in for mashed leftovers that dry out too much.
Glad to see you put this up, so many people don't know it's so easy to make your own beans!:)
I started a pot of pintos tonight...they're soaking as I sit here and type this. I usually do black beans but thought I'd try a batch of pintos this month. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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