Green Chili Beans

Beans are an excellent means in keeping your real food budget down.  They are super nutritious and add bulk to any meal.  There are two key items to note when making beans a regular part of your diet; soaking and fresh dried.

Soaking is imperative to proper bean digestion.  Gut issues are so prevalent that many steer clear of beans entirely.  While soaking will not alleviate all problems associated with an unhealthy gut, it is one piece to the puzzle.  Once you get into the habit to think ahead, it becomes a very simple thing to do.  To learn more about soaking, be sure to register for my class this Wednesday.

 We started using a lot more beans since finding a source for fresh dried beans.  The beans in grocery stores have been stored for a number of years before packaging, then stored some more before making it to the shelf on the grocery store. Fresh dried are from the most recent growing season resulting in a very noticeably superior product.  They cook up so plump and tender every time.

This is one of my favorite bean recipes.  I can the green chili sauce and chicken stock, actually I can beans too, but not enough to keep up with our needs!  The green chili sauce is such a staple, if you don’t can, freeze it in containers and keep it on hand.  It has such great flavor and many yummy applications.  The sauce is pretty easy to make, but making a large batch once and having it stored it really the way to go.

3 cup fresh dried pinto beans, soaked overnight

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 batch green chili enchilada sauce

Strain beans from soaking liquid.  Rinse well.  Add to pot with stock and sauce.  Simmer for 1 hour or pressure cook on high for 20 minutes, natural release.
links; Monday Mania, Hearth and Soul Hop, Menu Plan Monday, Happy Homemaker Monday, Frugal Friday