cooking with beans

[smeisnotapirate]

This may seem a silly question, but what do you do with beans? I have cans and cans of organic no additive beans, but I have NO idea what to make with them.

And how do you use them as a main protein?

Recipes and suggestions would both be appreciated.

[catnip]

My favorite thing to do with white beans - navy, great northern or cannelini types - is rinse, drain, add a little salt and the juice of one lemon to about 2 cans worth. Then I seperate out my daughter's portion, because she likes them plain like that, drizzled with a little olive oil. Then I heat some olive oil, chopped fresh sage and a whole lot of crushed garlic in a pan and add the beans for those with a palate more tolerant of strong flavors. I serve that with polenta and some sort of vegetable.

Black beans are great in burritos, salads, or I like them with sweet potatoes in an enchilada casserole.

I also love adding them to pasta dishes to make them more hearty.

[somegirl99]

Just a few ideas:

Hummus
Stew
Soups
Chili
Add to salads
Burritos and other Mexican food
Add white beans to pasta dishes
Baked beans

[MountainMamaGC]

Pasta e Fagioli. So yummy.

[love2all]

Burritos can be made with almost any bean- add rice and the fixings!!!
Mash em up add some cooked grains and flavors and form in to burgers
Add to pasta-add any flavors- curry, italian,etc, and add veggies-
Soups can feed lots of folks!!

Enjoy and explore...

[jgale]

I make spanish style beans and rice which uses a cup of rice, a can of beans and a small can of tomato sauce plus spices. You can add diced veggies like onions and hot and sweet peppers. Sometimes I double the beans to make it even healthier.

But mostly we do burritos with canned beans. Or chilli. And I put garbanzos in my salad almost every night. I also love garbanzos with almost any kind of vinaigrette, chopped tomatoes, parsley and rice.