Have you noticed the price of canned bans has gone waaay up lately? And it seems like so many family-friendly and frugal meals call for beans. My family loves them and that's a good thing, but I found that it's always cheaper to make my own beans in the crock pot and freeze them for later use.
I had a coupon recently for these Rubbermaid containers and they were on sale at Walgreen's. I love that they are cheap, seal well, and allow you to see what you are storing easily.
Each one held the equivalent of a can of beans.
I started off Tuesday by making a 1 pound package of pintos that equaled about 4 cans of cooked beans. I just put them in the crock, covered with water, and set it on low. No soaking required. It took about 6 hours or so. And I left seasoning out so I could use them in recipes. Four cans worth cost me 98 cents, or a little less than 25 cents each. Not bad.
On Wednesday I cooked black beans - 99 cents for a 1 pound bag. So, as cheap as pintos, but canned black beans are more expensive than canned pintos. Why is that? I added a few bits of leftover bbq ribs to season these and used the same cooking method..
Once they had cooled, into the freezer they went, with the pintos.
I see Taco Soup in my future. And Jamaican Rice and Beans, And Layered Tex Mex Enchiladas. And all kinds of other yummy things...
I also bought Great Northern beans from Tarjay, marked down from 1.99. 1.99? Are you kidding me? They actually rang up as 98 cents. This will make an awesome Italian soup. I have several great recipes that call for cooked white beans so I think I will set up the crock tomorrow before I leave for work.
What about you? Got any good plans for dried beans this Fall?
1 comment:
Love your idea about crock pot beans and freezing.
I really love more vegetarian fare (beans) and one child who loves vegetarian but wants pizza, pasta, potatoes!
No beans! No one else really cares for beans : (
I am inspired though to consider freezing more meals.
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