Beans are an incredible, tasty, thrifty, healthy source of protein. But, as we all know, canned beans can be hard to digest. As I shared in detail here, soaking dried beans in acidic water(water with vinegar or lemon juice) breaks down much of the hard-to-digest phytic acid and makes them much easier for your body to handle.

Making bean dip. Don’t worry, he wasn’t electrocuted, just being goofy! 

Once a month or so, I soak a huge pot of beans overnight to cook up the next morning. Then, I freeze it in small portions for use later that month. If you like Mexican foods, you can skip adding all the spices later on and cook the beans with the spices. It makes them smell and taste SO good! Just toss the cooked beans in the blender to make delicious bean dip or add to any Mexican dish.

Mexican Beans Recipe

Recipe from my Aunt Crystal 

Ingredients

• 2 lb. dry beans
• 2-4 T vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 T. salt (don’t add until beans are almost tender, otherwise it will make the bean skins tough!)

Instructions

1. Night before, rinse beans thoroughly.
2. Place in large pot, fill with water and add vinegar or lemon juice.
3. In the morning, drain and rinse well.

4. Fill pot with fresh water and add all ingredients except salt.
5. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and let simmer until nearly tender, stirring occasionally. Add salt. Continue cooking until they’ve reached your desired tenderness. (Around 2-3 hours, total.)

Now, you can use them right away in soup, blend them up into bean dip, or cool and freeze for later. Even bean dip freezes really well!

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Now it’s your turn! Jenn and I would love to have you join us for our weekly Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop! Posts about living frugally, thrifty tips and tricks, money-saving DIY projects and gardening, frugal recipes, and encouraging posts on financial stewardship are all welcome. Link up to either of our blogs–your post will be displayed in both places.We’d be very grateful if you’d share only thrifty-themed posts. (Read full guidelines here.)