Reader Recipe: 5 Bean Soup

Beans, Beans, They're Good For the Heart: The More You Eat, the Fuller You Get Without Breaking the Bank

What? Is that not how that phrase goes?

Anyway, beans, yes. They're cheap, they're easy to cook, and they're proteiny and filling. Mix them with rice and cheese and you have a full complex protein, or get five kinds of them together with stock and a big pot and a flame, and you've got soup.

5-Bean Soup

Ingredients:
--five kinds of beans
--stock, your choice of
--spices

Steps:
Find five kinds of beans. My feelings on the subject are: whatever's on sale. Canned pintos at 0.49 per? Sold. Dry black beans, three bags for a dollar? Fabulous.

Except for white beans. I don't know. They creep me out. **Note from LastPenny: I LOVE white beans! *vbg*

Anyway! Assemble your beans! If you're using all canned beans, your cooking time will be much much less than if they're dry. Basically, with all canned beans, you're just looking at heating ingredients through.

Some canned some dry? Dump all your dry beans in the stock in the pot. Cook over medium-low heat for hours and hours. Yes seriously. Or do the whole thing where you rest them in cold water overnight. YMMV.

When the dry beans have become cooked beans, add the canned beans.

Now, basically, as soon as you have beans in stock, you can add spices. Totally up to you what kind. Me? I continue to be in love with Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice mix, so that's me sorted, but I've also used Old Bay (nom nom nom), generic "Italian seasoning" mix (did I mention I buy what's on sale? My kitchen looks like a swap meet), garlic powder and oregano, turmeric and garlic, and whatever was in the unmarked jar at the back of the cupboard, but smelled fabulous.

The thing is, beans are usually cheap little suckers, and they pick up the flavors of whatever's added, and they fill bellies well.

Things You Can Add When Flush:
--bacon (whoa there big spender)
--chopped garlic (my fave, as I can actually grow it)
--chopped celery (hey, what's that wilting in the fridge?)
--canned tomatoes (saaaaaaaaaaaaale)
--rice (if it's regular, non-minute rice, either cook it with the dry beans or pre-cook it, because I have had bad experiences with stubborn rice)
--other things you'll all tell us about in comments

With thanks to oddmonster. Check out oddmonster's blog over here at Your Daily Dog