What to do with a very large can of pinto beans?!
What to do with a very large can of pinto beans?
I have a very large 6 lb can of pinto beans left in my pantry after a recent party and no idea what to use such a large can for. Does anyone have a creative recipe idea that would be family friendly and might be able to freeze well? I can't imagine eating all those beans without something interesting to go along with them. I need your ideas....
Answers:
Here's some recipes to help you out:
Chili Con Carne with Beef
INGREDIENTS:
2 dried hot red peppers, seeded and diced
3 cups water
2 pounds stew beef or lean chuck, cut in small pieces, about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cans (approx. 16 ounces each) pinto beans, drained
PREPARATION:
Simmer dried peppers in 1 cup water 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft and plump; drain and cool peppers; cut open and remove seeds and membranes. Finely chop peppers; set aside (wear gloves if peppers are very hot).
Saute meat in hot oil until browned. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender. Add 2 cups of water, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and diced red peppers. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until beef is very tender. Heat beans in a separate saucepan. To serve, spoon beans into a bowl and top with meat mixture. Or, add beans to meat mixture near the end of cooking.
White Chili
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
coarsely ground black pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 green chile peppers, seeded and minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, sliced
3 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans
4 green onions, chopped
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup white wine
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 bay leaves
DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook chicken in olive oil with black pepper until brown. Stir in onion, garlic and chiles and cook until onion begins to soften.
Stir in bell peppers, mushrooms, beans, green onions and parsley. Pour in wine and chicken broth. Season with bouillon, rosemary, thyme, oregano and cumin. Place bay leaves in pot, cover, reduce heat and simmer 90 minutes.
Chili freezes well too so if you have too much left, put it in the freezer for another night's quick meal.
Serve with some cornbread and you have dinner!
Donate it to a homeless shelter.
Beans and cornbread with onions and ham.
You could layer it and bake it like a flatulence inducing lasagna from he!!, but basically bean soup is bean soup.
You can take some and simmer them in a pan, squish them up, and make refried beans. They make a great dip, toppings for taco salad or nachos, or just eat it with a topping of cheese and sour cream.
I'm not sure if it freezes well or not, since I've never tried it. Have you considered donating the can to a local soup kitchen or a food drive? I'm sure there's someone out there who would welcome such a large portion of food, especially a soup kitchen!
mix it in a salad or with chopped meat and some chillie sauce
Make a hearty mealy soup.
1. Chop 2 onions
2. Fry them till golden brown
3. Add ginger, garlic and tomatoes (as much as you like it)
4. Add some beans (i'll suggest not to add the 6 lbs and add like 2 cups for 1 can of soup, this is so easy to make that you dont even need to freeze it)
5. Add a spoonfull of sugar, BBQ sauce and cook the beans for almost 10 minutes
6. If you want add salt
7. for two cups of beans add 1 can of soup and 1 can of water.
8. Wait till it boils.
9. Serve with black pepper and nacho chips.
10. If you like a lot of flavour and spice then add a small bottle of salsa.
11. If you like the soup then rate this as your fav answer. :P
CHEERIOS
do you have a dehydrator?? they dry well and rehydrate in hot water almost instantly, sort of like cup-o-soup. Or puree them down for homemade refried beans or bean dip, both of which freeze well. This puree is good in burritos, or can be sneaked (snuck??) into hamburger casseroles, meatloaf or soups if others in the family are bean-shy. Ground beans also make a nice meat stand in replacing burger for a less meaty or even vegetarian dish.
Drain beans and smash up and add 1 can chopped green chillies, 1 chopped onion (if you like onion), 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 1 container sour cream, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped), 2 packages of taco seasoning mix, and mix together. This is great hot or cold to dip with chips.
Put them in the bin love .......... you know you want to eat something far more interesting.
beans cornbread
spend the evening making a buttload of chili...eat some for dinner then freeze portions for later...hotdogs..chili casseroles...just plain chili...