best bean recipes

[annsteere]

For health--for our bodies and wallet--we want to add more grainsto our diet.

Beans are cheap and super healthy. But, I don't know many good ways to prepare them.

What do you do with beans/lentils/barley etc?

[annsteere]

I made pea soup in the crockpot.

Followed the ingredient list on the back of the bag of yellow peas. Put it all in the pot and let it go on high for 4 hours. Used a potato masher to smooth the texture a bit. Divided the batch in half, adding some leftover ham to the portion our veggie daughter won't be eating.

Pretty good. 6-8 lunch portions for less than 2 bucks.

[FormrCastMbr]

My family is not too keen on beans...I wish they were since they are healthy.

Here is one recipe they do like:

Beef and Barley Soup

1 1/2 # ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup pearl barley
4 carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 10.5 oz cans beef consomme (I use broth...can never find comsomme...don't even know what it is!!!)
2 cups water
1 10.5 oz can tomato soup (optional...I always use it)
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Brown beef, onion and garlic in a large pot. Add barley and remaining ingredients (except parsley). Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Stir in parsley and serve.

***You could also brown meat, etc and then put in a crock pot to cook on high for about 3 hours.

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I like to toss some garbanzo beans in a marinara sauce over pasta and also rice and beans. I found a good recipe that my husband actually liked - it was made with ham.

Another thing is bean salad...I just toss some beans with olive oil, lemon juice, minced red onion and salt and pepper...you could add some parsley for color.

[alvinaavis]

Vegetable Bean & Noodle Casserole
1 Saute onion and celery in oil in large Dutch oven until soft
2 Stir in flour, cook several minutes, stirring over medium heat.
3 Reduce heat, slowly add soy bean stock, sirring constantly.
4 Add carrots, potato, mushrooms , chopped tomato, herbs and seasonings, bring to boil to thicken, stirring constantly.
5 Remove from heat and set aside.
6 Alternate layers of soy beans and noodles in a greased 12x8x2-inch baking dish, pour some of the vegetable gravy over each layer. (Gravy should come almost to top of mixture.)
7 Arrange tomato slices over top , sprinkle with parsley
8 bake in preheated 350'F. oven 40 minutes .popcorn::