Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Another way to cook your beans....when you don't have lots of time.



      

In a previous post I indicated that I am a busy person.  In fact, I think I only know busy people.  So, I will share this and other options that you may try to use your dry beans at home.  As you can see, I am using my Crockpot.  I placed the dry beans inside.


Next I added water.  Always put in at least twice the amount of water than you have beans.  Here, I put in one cup of beans and  a little over 2 cups of water.  Turn the Crockpot on (I chose High because...I was in a hurry...surprise).  I left it going for about 3-4 hours.

Later, I checked to see if the beans were done, and they were.  I then added the rest of the ingredients to make White Bean Chili...which is really good!

Here is the recipe courtesy of the Food Network and Paula Deen:

Cook Time:1 hr 45 min


Level: Easy

Yield: 10 to 15 servings

Ingredients

1 pound dried navy beans

5 cups chicken stock

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3/4 cup diced onion

1 1/2 cups chopped green chiles (fresh or canned)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions

Rinse beans well, cover with cool water, and soak for 2 hours  (You could soak or use the Crockpot.  My beans were warm and ready to be made into chili directly from the Crockpot). Drain. Put the beans in large pot with the chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat.



In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and chiles and saute for 5 minutes. Add chile mixture to pot with beans. Add the chicken, cumin, oregano, pepper, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Serve with cornbread, if desired.



Here is a picture of....dinner.  I made this strictly from my Food Storage supplies.  I had dehydrated Cilantro and all the spices.  I used canned chicken that I had on hand.  I keep butter in my freezer, so I had it all.  I added homemade biscuits, sliced oranges and a drink.  On a cold day, it was wonderful.  My son said it shouldn't be called a chili....because it doesn't look like one.  He said, to him, it was a kind of chicken noodle soup.  So I'm thinking....where are the noodles?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

We have been making a similar recipe for a couple years now. When it is almost done, I add about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of potato flakes (these can also be a food storage item) to the entire pot, to help thicken it a bit. We do call it White Chili SOUP though...
As we serve it, we sprinkle bacon bits, Parmesan Gold Fish crackers & jack cheese (and Colby Jack cheese works if you do not have Monterrey Jack cheese by itself) on the top of every bowl.
A small FYI: we use Parmesan Gold Fish crackers as our standard croutons, in any salad, or soup that we'd normally use bread pieces in. adds whimsy & crunch.
So happy I found your blog & added you in FB. You have helped me expand my canning. Hop by my blog if you want.
AKH

The Little Red Hen said...

Thanks for the additional ideas! Enjoy your Holiday today!

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