When you have the time to plan ahead, making beans from scratch is definitely worth the wait. It's a big money saver too, because dried beans are so cheap and you can make a huge batch pretty easily using a slow-cooker. You also get to infuse the beans with whatever ingredients you add to the pot. I stick with onion, garlic, tomatoes, jalapenos, and some spices to give it tons of flavor and a little heat. These beans are delicious as a side dish or can serve as your main course with rice and shredded cheese.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups dried black beans
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 large or two small onions, diced
- 3 jalapeno peppers, diced with seeds (remove seeds for less spicy)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Adobo (or more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 slice (or chunk) of bacon
Directions:
Rinse your beans and pick through them to remove any odd-shaped or discolored beans. Soak the beans over night, or bring them to a boil in a large pot and let them simmer for 1 hour, covered. Drain, and add to your slow-cooker. (I used the second method because I didn't think about it the day before)
To the pot, add your canned tomatoes and spices. Next, add the vegetables and bacon, and then finally pour in the stock.
Turn the heat level to high, and let the beans cook for 6-7 hours. Turn the heat to low and cook for 3-4 hours longer. Taste them every once in a while to see if you need to add more spices or salt. The Adobo seasoning is pretty salty so I used that in place of salt. If the beans still have a bite to them after this amount of cooking time you may need to cook them a bit longer until they are completely soft. Remove the bacon before serving. These beans are infused with so many flavors, they are really delicious and will last for days! We just used the last bit of them in some chili, which was a good way to use up the leftovers. Enjoy!
This spicy soup will warm you up on a winter day- not that we've had too many cold days yet :) It is super savory from the bacon flavor, and the chipotle in adobo adds some delicous spice without making it too hot. I do admit I stole the recipe from serious eats; one of my main inspirations for recipes and cooking. It actually turned out to be more tasty than we had imagined, and we added a little cooked chopped chicken to make it a full meal. If you have leftovers, it also makes a pretty good bean dip.
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon
2 cans of black beans
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped (+ extra for garnish)
2 canned chipotles in adobo
2 T adobo sauce from the canned chipotles
1 t cumin
1 t Mexican oregano
salt and pepper
sour cream
2 limes- one squeezed for juice, one cut into wedges
Directions:
Cook the bacon in a skillet, reserving the fat in the pan when done.
Cook the chopped onion in the pan with the bacon drippings for about 10 minutes. Add garlic to the pan for the last 2 minutes of cooking time.
In a blender, combine the two cans of beans with liquid, the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, chicken broth, cumin, oregano, and the cooked onions & garlic. Blend until very smooth. Pour the mixture into a pot and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Finally, add the juice of one lime and half of the chopped bacon to the pot and stir. When serving, top with sour cream, extra chopped bacon, and an extra squeeze of lime.
