Dried beans ideas?

JamesO

I have lots of (unflavoured/not in a sauce) tinned and dried beans of different types, plus lots of red lentils and packets of 'country soup mix' sitting in the back of my cupboard.

I'm trying to increase my protein and fibre intake while also trying to stick to a budget and use up what I've got, so eating the beans I've got would seem to be a great idea. 

I know how to COOK the dried beans, but after that other than then putting them in a chilli I really don't know what to do with them. I'm not much of a cook and the recipes I've googled seem to need a ton of ingredients and steps. 

Ideally I'm looking for a few one pot 'dump' style recipes in a slow cooker or pressure pot that don't require a ton of ingredients, are easy, cheap and filing. Can you help? 

FrugaiMacDugal

That's my kinda cupboard stuff.

1 onion roughly diced,

1 tin chopped toms,

throw in any herbs/spices you have,

throw in a handful of pulses,

add beans, drained if from a can, keep juice., 

add any old veg from freezer.

you might need to add juice from tinned stuff,

see what turns out, can adjust portions to suit.

Have on a bed of rice, bulgar wheat, cous cous, quinoa, pasta, your choice.

kimwp

Would any suit going in a burrito with peppers, mushrooms, courgette, cheese and avocado and fajita spice?

All sorts of lentil soup recipes out there.

Dahl's? 

I've been pondering a white bean mash as a sandwich filing with salad veggies.

Following with interest as I'd like to up my bean and lentil uptake too.

JamesO

Thank you but I think it tastes good because you've done it before and know what you're doing. When I've tried just 'throwing in' spices and things from the fridge then I either get chilli (which I know how to make and tastes good) or something horrible that I then have to eat because I don't like to waste food.

FrugaiMacDugal said:

That's my kinda cupboard stuff.

1 onion roughly diced,

1 tin chopped toms,

throw in any herbs/spices you have,

throw in a handful of pulses,

add beans, drained if from a can, keep juice., 

add any old veg from freezer.

you might need to add juice from tinned stuff,

see what turns out, can adjust portions to suit.

Have on a bed of rice, bulgar wheat, cous cous, quinoa, pasta, your choice.

kimwp

JamesO said:

Thank you but I think it tastes good because you've done it before and know what you're doing. When I've tried just 'throwing in' spices and things from the fridge then I either get chilli (which I know how to make and tastes good) or something horrible that I then have to eat because I don't like to waste food.

FrugaiMacDugal said:

That's my kinda cupboard stuff.

1 onion roughly diced,

1 tin chopped toms,

throw in any herbs/spices you have,

throw in a handful of pulses,

add beans, drained if from a can, keep juice., 

add any old veg from freezer.

you might need to add juice from tinned stuff,

see what turns out, can adjust portions to suit.

Have on a bed of rice, bulgar wheat, cous cous, quinoa, pasta, your choice.

Probably best to Google bean recipes and try them to find which you like - everyone's taste preferences are different anyway.

FrugaiMacDugal

JamesO said:

Thank you but I think it tastes good because you've done it before and know what you're doing. When I've tried just 'throwing in' spices and things from the fridge then I either get chilli (which I know how to make and tastes good) or something horrible that I then have to eat because I don't like to waste food.

FrugaiMacDugal said:

That's my kinda cupboard stuff.

1 onion roughly diced,

1 tin chopped toms,

throw in any herbs/spices you have,

throw in a handful of pulses,

add beans, drained if from a can, keep juice., 

add any old veg from freezer.

you might need to add juice from tinned stuff,

see what turns out, can adjust portions to suit.

Have on a bed of rice, bulgar wheat, cous cous, quinoa, pasta, your choice.

Just keep experimenting, waste nothing..

Brie

With a recipe like that I would consider herbs de provence or a mix of basil, oregano, thyme, maybe a pinch of tarragon.  Maybe grind in a bit of pepper (only a small amount for me!).  I don't add salt to cooking but will add it once food is served.  

Alternative

chopped onion
chopped skinned squash  (butternut is good)
chopped potato
tin of tomatoes
stock cube with a bit of water.
herbs as noted above
slug of worcestershire sauce
cook until everything is soft.
mash or zizz with a blender
throw in some dried lentils or a drained tin of beans and cook until beans are hot or lentils are soft. 

serve in bowls with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream and add a couple of drops of tabasco on top.

PipneyJane

I use lentils and beans to pad out a lot of meals.  Do you eat meat?  If so, halve the mince you use and add a quarter cup or half cup of split red lentils to thicken and bulk up the sauce.

Meal suggestion-wise, I’d suggest Cuban Black Bean Stew:

soak a 500g bag of black turtle beans overnight and combine in a slow cooker with
1 chopped onion, 
6 cloves garlic, crushed, 

2 green peppers, roughly cubed 

150g-500g  cooking bacon, roughly chopped (or use leftover ham)
2 chilies, chopped (or 1 heaped teaspoon ground chilli)

1 smoked dried pepper (if you are lucky enough to find them)

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspooon liquid smoke

Boiling water to cover

Cook on High for 8 hours.

HTH

- Pip

bouicca21

Hummus - I use dried chick peas soaked, slow cooker, then smashed up with tahini, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, more or less following this recipe, https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/mediterranean(/greek/hummus-bi-tahini. Freezes well.

Also do a veg and lentil curry in the slow cooker. Can’t remember where I got the recipe. Makes 4 hearty portions or 5-6 smaller ones.  Also freezes well.

chopped onion
chopped pepper
sweet potato or butternut squash, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
bit of ginger
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, turmeric, cardamom seeds
a few tomatoes
1 can light coconut milk (but full fat works fine)
about 400 ml stock
200g red lentils (imho doesn’t work nearly as well with Green lentils)
spinach Or chard optional

Sauté the onion and spices, then bung it all in a slow cooker for about 6 hours on low. Check occasionally that there is enough liquid.

If using chard separate leaves from stalks, and add the chopped stalks to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. Add the chopped leaves about 5-10 minutes before the end. If using spinach that also goes in about 10 minutes before the end - just enough time to wilt.

black bean burgers are good too!

-taff

bbq beans,  spicy or not, very good.

This one is pretty good but you can adapt for a slow cooker

https://www.seriouseats.com/best-barbecue-beans-recipe

Pasta e fagioli soup, easy peasy

bean dip, like hummus but beans, very good

pork and beans or sausage and beans in a tomato sauce or a spicy sauce, one pot wonder, use different sausages for different results, I love a garlic based sausage in mine, cannelini and a little bit of tomato [ with onions, stock cube or stock, maybe a bit of wine etc...]

vegetable and borlotti beans soup, think minestrone with some kale chopped up in it and a parmesan heel or parmesan grated on top.

Just plain beans with garlic and parsely, vinegar and oil like a salad.

otb666

I tend to just put a good squirt of tomato puree in a saucepan with the beans then have them on toast. Quick easy and tasty. I have a lot of kidney beans at the moment and will make chilli and rice with them adding red lentils instead of meat.  I am also clearing my cupboards out and have alot of noodle packets and grains to use up. Its good to do this every now and then and I am on my third week of doing this and still have plenty.