Homemade Restaurant-style Black Beans in the CrockPot
Published: Thu, 01/05/17
Happy Friday-Eve, Slow Cookerers!
I hope your first week of 2017 has been going well.
Personally, I've been pretty good so far on eating healthy for the New Year. I've mostly been sticking with pretty low-carb meals at home and instead of having a side dish such as rice or potatoes, I've been making beans.
LOTS OF BEANS.
We are only 5 days into this new year and I'm pretty sure I've consumed more beans than I have in the past 6 months combined.
The result is lots of energy. I actually feel rather fantastic.
It's amazing how feeding your body what your body needs to function properly really is the name of the game.
#lifelesson
Here is my favorite way to make Restaurant-Style Black Beans at home:
Mexican Black Beans
serves 8-10 as a side dish
1 pound black beans, soaked overnight, then drained
(if you don't have time to soak overnight, no problem. Put them in a large pot, and cover completely with water. Bring to a rapid boil for 10 minutes, then turn off stove and cover pot. Let your beans sit for 1 hour, then drain water and put beans into crockpot)
6 cups chicken broth (if vegetarian, use veggie broth; I'm concerned water won't provide enough flavor)
6 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, or 2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Soak your beans overnight and drain (or use quick soaking method described above).
I've heard that you should water your outside plants with the bean water, but I've never done so--- I really should give that a try.
Put the drained beans into your slow cooker, then add the chopped garlic, broth, tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder. Stir well to combine.
I used bouillon cubes for my broth. If you're on a low-sodium diet, you may want to use low-sodium broth, or only use 5 cups and then 1 cup of water--- I've been cutting out salt and these beans tasted salty to me, but Adam and the kids thought they just tasted "good"---
cover and cook on low for 8 hours. If you live in a high altitude area, you may need to cook for longer. We're at sea level and my beans were perfect at 8 hours.
The Verdict.
My entire family loves these beans. We ate them last night with carnitas, and I had them scrambled in with eggs for breakfast.
The seasoning is fantastic--- the cumin and chili powder complement each other nicely and I liked the bits of tomato and garlic. If you want some heat, opt for a can of tomatoes and chiles (Rotel)-- there is no heat here, just flavor.
This morning, the beans have soaked in more of the liquid, but taste marvelous, even cold.
If you'd like to freeze in batches, be aware that the beans will break down a bit-- no biggie, unless you'd like them picture-perfect.
PS: If a different New Year's Resolution of yours was to get Organized, ONCE AND FOR ALL, then you will really benefit from my printable organizing calendars.