One of Those Duh Moments

Have you ever read something or heard something and thought, that is a really great idea and so simple why didn't I think about that. Well I had one of those moments not to long ago. I was reading an article over at http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/ and thought what a great idea. She cooks her beans in big batches and then freezes them. We have been cutting back on meat to make our grass fed, free range meat last and not break out budget. So this was perfect since beans are really healthy for you and a great source of protein.

I have taken it a step further and I have been doing my rice this way too. Its so simple and it is great for me because I'm not always great at planing ahead and sometimes life calls for last minute prep. You might be thinking that is why we have canned food and instant rice down the street at our local grocery store. You are right but have you read up on BPA or the fact that canned beans  have so much salt in them. Or the health benefits to fresh brown rice. Plus the cost is so cheap that even if you buy high end organic beans or rice you end up saving quite a bit of money.

So here it is a cheap, healthy, and fast way to eat your beans and rice.

For the beans:

Before you go to bed stick your beans into your crock pot and fill it with filtered water about 1-2 inches above the beans.

The next morning pour out the water and rinse the beans.

Refill the crock pot with your now rinsed beans and more filtered water about 3-4 inches above the beans.

Turn your crock pot on low and cook for about 6-8 hour depending on the beans.

After the beans are cooked let them cool

I like to dump and rinse the beans one more time, then I fill sandwich bags with about 16 ounces of beans. 

Then freeze. I think you could probably lay the beans on a cookie sheet and flash freeze then but I have not tried that yet.
Then when you want a quick dinner or lunch just pull them out of the freezer, heat up and make some bean and cheese burritos.

For the Rice:

Cook your rice like you would for dinner, I use long grain brown rice in my rice attachment on my steamer.

Then let cool and freeze in sandwich bags. I put about 2 cups in each bag. 

It is so easy to pull out and heat up for a side dish, breakfast or to but in some soup.