Mealtime Monday: Bargain Beans

Bargain Beans

Pound for pound, your best value for protein is dried beans. At around a buck a pound before they are cooked, they can really extend your mealtime dollar. With so many varieties of dried legumes available in almost every grocery store, you have endless possibilities to create new dishes for next to nothing.

During one particularly low budget time, Maci got beans for every meal for a few days. Thankfully, the ever complementary little monkey loved them. Nothing can make you feel quite as grateful as a wee curly headed cutie squealing, "Yeah!!! Beans, again!!!" as she peers into her cereal bowl at 7am.

Here is a Bargain Basement Bean Recipe accompanied by its best frugal friend, Rice.

Beans and Rice

• 1 pound of dried beans
• Garlic
• Celery
• Onion
• Carrot
• Black Pepper
• One hunk of pig (bacon, side meat, salt pork, etc.)
• Water
• Salt
• Rice

Pour your sack of beans into a colander and pick out the funky looking ones and rinse the rest. Dump these into a slow cooker and add whatever amounts of the vegetables that you have or that you like. Toss in your pig particle and add water to within 2 inches of the rim. Cook on low for at least 8 hours and salt your concoction.

Make rice per the package instructions.

Serve beans over rice for a delicious dinner....or breakfast, as the case may be.