Dried Beans
Dried beans are so easy to cook just think ahead so you can soak the beans before cooking to make them easier to digest. Beans are good for you and low in fat, high in fiber, high in protein and they contain vitamins and minerals.
First prepare the beans by pouring the beans into a flat pan and look through them for trash. Then rinse the beans, put the beans in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil for about two minutes and strain off the water. Put them back in the pot or a container and cover with water plus about two inches more. Put them in the refrigerator for a soaking overnight or for 24 hours. This should help to make the beans digest better and help prevent gas that some people get from eating beans. When I am going to cook beans I soak mine the day before. Such as if this is Monday and you want to cook beans on Tuesday, prepare the beans for soaking this Monday morning and cook them Tuesday Morning.
This is easy and the house will smell like Grandma's house (if your Grandma's house smells good :)
Two cups of clean,washed and soaked dry beans
8 cups water
2 cloves peeled garlic left whole (optional)
one "small" peeled onion left whole (optional)
2 slices bacon
Place everything in pot and bring to boil. Reduce to very gentle boil (Simmering).
Cook for an hour and half add a "little" salt if desired, check for tenderness and add more water if the water is low. Return to the heat and bring it back to a boil, reduce the heat again and check off and on until the beans are done. When I cook beans it usually takes about two hours, more or less. I normally only add a pinch of salt when cooking because we add salt after it has been served.
