Kitchen Adventures: Dried Beans (18 Bean Soup Recipe)

On a recent trip to the dollar store (why do they call it that- I can never get out for under $20 Dollar$!), I purchased a few bags of dried beans and put them in my pantry- just in case. Monday was the case- either fueled by torrential downpour here in sunny CA or I wanted to dust off the crock pot.... the plan was to make chili, but I decided to experiment.  I actually read the instructions on the bag (imagine!) and was instantly transported to when I was little and my mom used to make a huge pot of beans or chili. I remember helping her 'sort' out the beans looking for any non-edible items that might have made its way into the mix (ie: a little pebble) and then washing the beans. So nostalgic. And a challenge: I've never cooked with dried beans before, just the canned variety. It was not an instantaneous process for dinner on the table in 30 minutes, but it was very simple and versatile. And wait until you see the cost! I concocted up a delish recipe that I wanted to pass along to you!

1 Bag (dried) 18 Bean Mix- sort through the beans and place into a colander and wash with hot water
1 Bag navy beans (I used white)
 1 package of ground turkey- browned with onions, garlic, salt and pepper
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 bouillon cubes- your preferred flavor
2 pressed garlic cloves\
1 Can Green Chilies (mild)
Seasonings to taste: (I'm a 'dasher' meaning that I use a dash of this, and that while I cook)
I used: Salt, pepper, dried onion (I'm not a fan of the onion), 2 garlic cloves, Worcester sauce, balsamic vinegar, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute and parsley

Soak the beans in about 8 cups of water overnight. Drain and rinse and put into the crock pot with 6 cups of water, the turkey and the rest of the ingredients. Turn on desired setting and wait for dinner! Serve with desired toppings such as cheese, sour cream and with a loaf of crusty french bread! Since I was making "noondles" (noodles) for Miss K, I also added some to a serving- yumm!

This recipe feeds an army- we had dinner for two nights, I'm taking for lunch one more day and I froze a large bag of the soup as well. I also added some sauteed beet greens to mine tonight and it was yummy (but that's for another post!) Another benefit- the cost of the entire crock pot including the bread was under $8- budget gourmet! I hope that you enjoy this recipe!

My farm delivery box allows me the liberty to be creative with recipes- it's always fun to think up recipes (outside of soup, pasta or risotto!) with whatever comes in it. This week I received my delivery right before Thanksgiving and even though I was totally inspired, I was also so busy and swamped! But today inspiration and time were finally on my side! Mind you that my hubs doesn't like either ingredient in the title aside from "Apple" and "Pie" but I'm going to make him try it out anyways! I just had my first slice and it was D-lish!




(2) pre-made refrigerated pie crusts- room temp

1 pint of fresh cranberries

1 bunch of rhubarb (approximately 1/4 cup finely chopped)

4 medium apples- preferrable Fuji or other sweet apple- coursely chopped

1 orange- zest and then squeeze the juice and reserve

cinnamon

vanilla

1 c. of splenda or sugar, plus 1/4 cup

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 stick of butter



Heat oven to 425. Coursely chop the cranberries and rhubarb and place in a microwave safe bowl and add enough water to cover. Add 1/4 cup of sugar or splenda to the mixture, along with 2/3 of the fresh juice. Microwave on high 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.

Place one pie crust in a deep-dish pie plate and form against sides.

Strain cranberry mixture and add apples, mix and then spread into formed pie crust. Sprinkle with your preferred amount of cinnamon and vanilla. Mix together the remaining sugar and flour and add over filling. Dot filling with butter and pour remaining orange juice prior to covering with top crust. Add top crust, pinch edges to seal. Cut slits into crust and brush with a little melted butter. Sprinkle with some sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crusts are brown and mixture is bubbly. Enjoy with some ice cream or fresh whipped cream!