Four More Slow Cooker Ideas

In my quest to get healthy meals made for my family this coming Fall while I am in school, here are some great ideas I’ve come up with using a slow cooker bean recipe I found online.

You can find more slow cooker recipes here.  All my slow cooker recipes are tried and true.

Make Ahead Beans

I found the original recipe at www.nourishingdays.com.  This is one of those recipes that can be altered, tweaked and changed to your heart’s delight.

The original recipe:

• 4 cups pinto beans, sprouted or soaked for 24 hours
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 sliced jalapeno, 5-8 slices of jarred jalapenos, or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• water and/or stock to just barely cover beans

1. “Rinse beans that have been sprouted or soaked for 24 hours. Dump them in your slow-cooker. Add all other ingredients and cover with enough water and/or homemade stock to cover. I usually use half and half.
2. Cook on high 6-8 hours, until beans are tender and liquid has thickened to your desired consistency.”

I changed it up a little because my family doesn’t like the heat of peppers. So I used some chipotle chili powder along with the cumin. Not much heat, all the smoky flavor.

Another thing I changed: I boil the beans for about 10 minutes before adding them to the Slow Cooker. It just helps the beans get done more consistently.

I also have used black beans and navy beans with this recipe, they work great.
After the beans are cooked, I store them in the frig and use them all week in different recipes.

Recipe 1 –  Refried Beans with Flat Bread. 

My Flat Bread recipe can be made ahead and warmed.  To make Refried Beans I use my blender and a little water and about 1 Tablespoon melted butter per cup of beans. When they are the right consistency, I heat them on the stove. Sometimes I add more seasonings like what I cooked the beans with, I usually add salt too. Spread some beans on the flat bread, top with shredded cheese and toast. Perfect, filling, simple meal.

Recipe 2 – Beans And Toppings

Simple. Take out however many servings of the slow cooker beans you need, reheat on the stovetop. Prepare any or all of these toppings for the beans:

salsa
cheese
chopped onion, avocado, tomato, green onion, chives
sour cream or yogurt
cooked ground meat
cooked rice, brown or white

Put everything in small bowls and serve with the beans. A piece of homemade cornbread is great with these beans.

Recipe 3 – Use in Soups and Stews
These beans are really good tasting in soups and stew. Chili is great with these beans, doesn’t even need meat but of course you can add meat if you like. Just use your favorite chili recipe, even the one on the back of the packet of chili seasoning mix, then add the beans.

You could use them in bean soup too, just remember the seasonings you used when cooking and don’t try to season soup made with beans as you would with the usual bean soup recipe.

Recipe 4 – Hummus
To make hummus with these beans, place 1 cup of drained beans in a blender or food processor. Add 1 teaspoon tahini, 1 clove garlic, minced, juice of half a lime, some fresh chopped cilantro and about a Tablespoon of Braggs liquid Aminos if you like that kind of thing.

Hummus made from these beans is delicious used as a dip, but I really like it rolled up in the flat bread along with bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber and some homemade Ranch Dressing. Another simple, healthy meal.

There you go! 4 more delicious slow cooker recipes for your Fall Menus!