How-to: Dried Beans

Confession: I’ve never cooked with dried beans; canned ones are my default. Recently I noticed how much cheaper the dried variety is than the canned ones and decided it was time to try. I bought a 2-pound bag for about $1. 50. After doing a little research, I chose to cook mine following the “quick soaking” method. In this case, “quick” means that you don’t have to soak the beans overnight, but you still have to plan ahead to make sure they are ready for dinner. With the soaked beans, we had this recipe for dinner (served with grits instead of rice), and then I was able to freeze two more meals of the mixture. Enjoy!

Dried Beans
1 lb. dried beans, rinsed and sorted (don’t skip this step—I found a pebble in mine)
Water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

1. Place beans in a Dutch oven. Add hot water to cover, plus 2 inches. Bring mixture to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Use as you would canned beans. (Note: You may have to add more liquid to recipes than you normally would for canned beans.)