Slow Cooker Black Beans

I think this was one of the first things I made from Budget Bytes. I love that blog so much!! Here's the link to her instructions.

http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-kick-can-of-beans.html

I love making my black beans in the Crock Pot because they are so much cheaper than canned beans! It's easy as can be. Here's how to do it:

STEP 1: Pour one pound (or two for an extra large batch) of beans out onto a baking sheet and sort through to remove any stones or debris. Transfer the beans to a colander to rinse off any dust.

STEP 2: Place the cleaned and sorted beans in a slow cooker and add 6 cups of water for every pound of beans. Put the lid on, set the cooker to HIGH and let her go. Beans that have not been presoaked will take 4-6 hours to cook on HIGH.

STEP 3: Once the beans are tender, pour them into a colander and give them a quick rinse. Divide the beans into containers (re-sealable or zip top freezer bags), label, date and freeze until ready to use! Easy as that.

It's really important to look the beans over for stones. Here's what I found this time:



One pound of dry beans will yield about 6 cups of cooked beans, equal to about 3 cans. I have always done two pounds at a time. We go through a lot of black beans in our house. I like to use the Ziplock containers with a screw on lid. So I fill up six of these: