Made baked beans today...

**alotofgooddeals** · 12-26-2011, 09:54 PM

i know it is a small feat...but in my book it is a big feat...i never get them done all the way but today i boiled them for around 45 minutes.....and then they soaked for a while and then i put them in the crockpot and did my thing.....they are turning out beautifully....I am so excited! Just one of the things i will be doing to make my grocery bill stretch further....

**Spirit Deer** · 12-26-2011, 11:08 PM

Congrats! Once you master the basic cooking, you can vary the recipe to make chili beans and all kinds of other stuff.

Success always feels so good, even for simple things.

**tripleb** · 12-27-2011, 07:26 AM

Awesome for you! Have been going to try them in the crockpot too. It's been years since I made them.

**oheoh's momma** · 12-27-2011, 09:22 AM

they are so yummy mad from scratch..This will be one to keep in your frugal recipes keeper pile...

**Ponderer** · 12-27-2011, 11:44 AM

Ok...since they turned out so wonderfully I wanna see your recipe!! And congrats on the victory...they all count. :-)

**Swoosie** · 12-27-2011, 11:47 AM

Yummy! I love homemade baked beans. They freeze great too.

**OOwl** · 12-27-2011, 01:59 PM

I live in Texas, where chili beans are a staple, and I make them without issue almost weekly. HOWEVER, I have a really hard time with navy beans. I generally just cheat and buy them in the can and then dressed them up as "baked beans," by adding bacon, browned onion and pepper, and brown sugar sauce. I have TRIED to start navy beans from scratch and had a really difficult time with it. I boiled, pre-soaked, cooked long and low, EVERY method I had researched and read about. THEN, I discovered that the methods I used weren't flawed; the beans were! To properly bake navy beans, the beans themselves can't be too dried out or stale or they will never, ever soften up (pintos rarely have that problem, perhaps because they're larger and retain more moisture). Anyway, Texas isn't big navy bean country so finding "fresh" dried navy beans hasn't been possible. Still searching for a way of ensuring the beans I choose will cook up properly by visual inspection prior to purchase. Anyone know a good method of selecting dried navy beans?

**Ceashels** · 12-27-2011, 02:30 PM

Thanks Oowl, I didn't know that about navy beans and that may explain why i didn't enjoy any of the batch I made in several different recipes... I guess they are going to be pitched.

**bookwormpeg** · 12-27-2011, 08:19 PM

Sounds really good. Have never tried to make them..how about sharing your recipe or do you cook like me...a little of this, a little of that..

**Nana2two** · 12-27-2011, 10:51 PM

So how did those beans turn out?

**Saule** · 12-27-2011, 11:11 PM

I love beans, lentils, chickpeas - there are so many good things you can make with them. Buying them at a store that has good turnover is important. If you don't have that locally - navy beans in Texas - you might want to buy them online, but the shipping might kill you. Still, such good nutrition from them, and they taste good too. Just recently I tried a vegetarian butter "chicken" made with chickpeas (an Indian dish, if it is unfamiliar to you), and it was so delicious! I ate for dinner, then scarfed down at lunch, and shared the recipe with my sister, brother, friends at work, etc. So so good.

BTW, there is controversy on whether to salt or not and Cook's Illustrated, whom I really trust, say to salt while soaking but not while cooking.