Beans

Preferably black beans at our house, and we eat a lot of them.  Awhile ago I decided to do away with buying cans of beans.  It started becoming ridiculous at how fast we would go through them and I would be right back at the store stocking up again.  I also heard many "reports" on how much cheaper it is to make your own beans.  I trusted those reports and bought a 25 pound bag of black beans. 

I had a method of cooking the beans but it seemed to start failing the more I used it.  I finally took a break from making them and we bought a few cans here and there but our bean intake went down.  It dawned on me recently that my little guy hasn't had any beans and I didn't want to miss the window of getting him to like them.  What would I do if one of my kids wouldn't eat beans? 

I consulted with a friend and she said her method has always worked for her and she didn't soak them (which for some reason that was a big pain for me).  I think what I was doing wrong before was trying to cook too many beans at a time.

2 cups of black beans- sorted through picking out rocks and the cracked ones
8 cups of water (appx.)- I just fill my crockpot

Rinse beans thoroughly, place in a crockpot, and cook high 3-4 hours or low 5-6 hours. 

I started mine on high for 6 hours and at hour four started to checking them it was pretty close to the  6 hours mark when they seemed done enough for me.  One time I let them be on the warm setting for a little too long and they started to be mushy and fall apart.  That isn't an issue for me (it actually worked better for my little one) but you may want to start checking your beans as I did to make sure they are where you want them to be.

-Remember don't add the salt till they are done cooking.

-You can add some things to season during the cooking like chopped onion, minced fresh garlic, or other herbs and spices.Other things to not add until the beans are done cooking are acidic and calcium foods.  Both of these react negatively with the beans and causes for them to toughen and take much longer to cook.

-After I make them we eat them that night and then I store the rest in ziploc bags in the freezer for up to four   months.

You can also puree them and freeze them in ice cube trays to feed to your baby (starting at 9 months).  My little guy is old enough that he can eat beans whole- the mushier the better and I think he likes them.

Keep in mind beans do tend to cause gas so start your baby off with small portions to get their bellies used to  them.  You want a smile like this to last.

Have you found another full proof method to make other kinds of beans?