Beans Beans...

Love me some beans! And a great, GREAT option.

Taco salad. Love black beans tossed in with lettuce, a little sharp cheddar, all the veggies you want to add and topped with ff sour cream and salsa. I also cook up some ground turkey with taco seasoning to throw on there. Endless possibilites with that one. Pinto, kidney and cannelini beans are also good in it.

Three bean salad. Can't remember the the dressing right off, but I think it's a simple oil/vinegar one. Kidney beans, cut green beans and wax beans, green onion and whatever else you want to throw in there marinated in the dressing. Travels well, keeps in the fridge a week or more.

Sausage and beans: cook up your choise of bulk ground or smoked sausage (1/2 to one pound per 1 pound of beans). Make a sauce out of canned diced tomatoes, onions, and garlic, seasone with salt, pepper and sage, stir all together with 1 lb of navy or Northern beans. Serve over your choice of rice. Freezes great.

Red Beans and rice: simmer 1 lb of kidney or small red beans with chopped turkey ham (ok, it's best with a real ham hock, but that's a rare treat!) with a touch of cumin, red pepper and salt and pepper. Add in celery and onions, and some bell pepper if desired. Cook till beans start to break down. serve over your choice of rice.

These are recipes I've been making for years, and I really don't know measurements. Just throw stuff in But a google search will bring a bunch of delicious variations.

That's just off the top of my head. Some ground meat/sausage thrown into ANY bean and simmered, and served over rice, potatoes or cornbread is a hearty meal that travel/freeze well.

Arab cuisine, Lebanese and Egyptian in particular, make good use of beans, lentils and chickpeas. Foul medammes (pronounced fool, but is neither foul nor foolish, just delicious) is a good one.

If you can get them try fava beans. If you're going for canned try the California brand Egyptian recipe. If you can find them dried cook them in a slow cooker overnight with a lot of water (they seem to take more than usual beans and will be messed up if you run out of water) until you can squish them with a fork.

Squish about half with a fork. Top with lemon or lime, salt, pepper, cumin, parsley if you are so inclined and olive oil. I like to add sliced hard boiled eggs, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and scallions. Eat like a salad. Traditionally this is eaten with pita bread, but I prefer to eat it like a salad.

Lentils are very yummy and cheap as well. We make something like this once a week. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/turkish-red-lentil-soup except that we add lots of veggies to it and puree at the end. I also like to add a bit of garam masala for warmth. I toast whole cumin and mustard seeds in a bit of ghee, blend, and then toss them in there too.

Tuscan white bean soup is awesome as well. White beans, veggies, garlic and fresh basil. I've seen plenty of recipes that use rosemary instead of basil, that's delicious too.

When you get tired of soups try bean dips. I like to bake an eggplant until completely mushy, and then toss it in a food processor with chickpeas, garlic, and a bit of olive oil. Scoop it up with veggie slices. Try eating it in a sandwich the the fava beans and veggies sometime.

I've never tried making my own but veggie burgers are always another idea.

Oooh! Something I made last night: Black beans, fresh spinach and a little drizzle of ranch. It sounds so simple, but man oh man, I'm going to go make more and bring it for lunch. I'm craving it!

Also, you could make a really good bean salad. At work we make one with lentil beans, black beans, kidney beans and green beans (not even sure if they count lol)

Love me some beans... bumpppp

Beans and greens...lots of recipes online. Lentils work with greens, too. Did anyone mention bean or lentil salads? Baked beans. By the way, try adding a little sour cream to your hummus if you like it creamy. We also enjoy a recipe called "African Nut-Butter Stew" that has beans, rice, sweet potatoes. It calls for almond butter, but peanut butter would work fine. I don't know about the anti inflammatory claims, we just like it. (Search for the recipe with Toronto star in the search line.)

Black bean brownies : http://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-gluten-free-black-bean-brownies/

one tin of beans, plus one tin of carrots, one tin of tomatoes, blend, add herbs you desire, heat through and eat. Yummy soup, low cal, high goodness and about 30p a serving

I created my own version of Taco Bell's Cantina Bowl -
1/2 cup of rice (I use brown rice)
1/2 cup of black beans, drained (I used Bush's Reduced sodium, but buying them dry and soaking them is obviously cheaper)
1/2 c corn (canned, frozen, or fresh, if canned, drain)
Cooked chicken breast or other meat of choice (pork or beef would be great) - 1/2 cup
Lettuce - about 1 cup, I use romaine
Trader Joes - Cilantro Salad Dressing - 2 tbs -This is what might be hard to find. I haven't seen it anywhere but at Trader Joe's.

I make everything ahead, so I put the cooked rice in a microwavable plate or shallow bowl, top with corn, beans, chicken, microwave until hot, top with lettuce and dressing. Yummy hot and cold salad.

I work full time and have 2 kids, and this is very easy to make using canned beans and corn, leftover rice. I just need to make sure I have lettuce on hand.

Taco Bells Version has pico de gallo (chopped tomotoes) and guacamole but I don't like those.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

I make a big pot of White Chicken Chili using lots of beans. Cost is about $15-20. But you get another meal out of the chicken and broth. And the pot of soup easily lasts all week for lunches and some dinners. It also freezes well.

Get a rotisserie chicken from the store. I buy mine at Sam's Club, it's huge for $5. Pull off breast meat and reserve for another dish.
Toss the rest of it into a stock pot and cover with water. Boil for about an hour. Then pull the rest of the meat off of it. Use this leftover chicken for the chili. Pull out all of the bones/skin and use the liquid for your broth. (Don't throw away those bones/skin, you can throw all of that into another pot and boil for another 3 hours with a diced onion to make another 4-6 cups of awesome broth that can be used for another dish!)

Depending on the size you want to make will depend how many cans of beans you add. (or soak dry beans overnight).

I generally add 6 cans of beans, without draining liquid. I try to go with white beans primarily but its whatever is on sale. Northerns, garbanzo, chick peas, lentils, black beans, kidneys, etc, etc. A low sodium version on beans is always a good idea as the sodium is high with so many canned items.

Dice up an onion and add to it. Optionally, I will sometimes add some corn or carrot.

I add 1-2 cans of picante. Here locally, there is a brand called Yellow Gold diced tomatoes with chilies. You can also add regular diced tomatoes and add a couple jalapenos instead. Depends on how hot your taste buds are.


Spices:
4 tablespoons of cumin (To taste, start with 2 and work up)
Fresh cracked pepper
2 tablespoons of garlic powder

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese.

Bump

This is what I'm making tonight; use a little extra broth or water and it's a great soup. Originally a Southern Living recipe.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/red-lentils-10000001842426/

One of the cheap and fast....and not to forget very healthy meals I make is a good Pico de Gallo ( chopped onion, tomato, cilantro and a spritz of lime/lemon juice and chile to taste ). To keep it really simple I add after the beans ( any kind will do , but I especially like black beans, chickpeas and lentils ) some sweet corn, top with natural yogurt and eat it with whole wheat crackers, tortillas, flat bread, pita bread etc.
If I want more protein I add a pouch of tuna, a small can of sardines, octopus or anything of the kind and again eat it with the afore mentioned bread. If I want to save carbs, I put a spoon full of the mix on a lettuce leaf and eat it like a taco.