1 part lentils
1 part pinto or red beans
1 part northern white beans
1 part garbanzo beans
1 part black beans
1 part whole green peas

Sort beans and pick out any rocks and dirt clods. Mix the dry beans in a storage container to be used as needed.

To cook:

Put 2-3 cups of bean mix into large pot. Fill with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Turn off, remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour. Then return to heat and simmer for 2-4 hours until soft. Add chopped onions, garlic, and other vegetables (carrots, celery, green beans, corn, etc.) as desired. Season with seasoned salt, pepper, cayenne and/or Cajun Seasoning or Mexican Seasoning. (Do not add acid - like tomatoes, or salt until beans are soft.)

Labels: beans, soup

Make it into Burritos, Tacos & Tortilla Soup.

Put about 8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts in your crockpot with 1 jar of salsa, 1 onion chopped, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 small can diced green chiles, and 1 can chicken broth. (If you're in a hurry, just add chicken and salsa - you can add the other stuff later when you make the soup). Cook about 5 hours on high. Fish out the chicken and Shred the chicken with 2 forks.

Tortilla Soup -
Put one or two breasts worth back into the pot with the soupy stuff and freeze in a gallon Ziploc (zip it and lay it flat, so it will thaw faster) or a large gladware container. Take out to thaw the night before you plan to serve it.

When you're ready to have tortilla soup just add 1 can corn, 1 can pinto beans, and 1 can black beans. I also like to add a can of refried beans for our big family, and sometimes it needs another can of tomatoes or chicken broth (to stretch it). Serve with Tortilla Chips and grated cheese. (With all the extra cans of goodness - it's enough for at least 2 meals for my family of 8).

Chicken Tacos -
For tacos just use the shredded meat in taco shells, instead of ground beef. Then decorate with grated cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, etc. Make burritos with any leftover meat and freeze them for later!

Shredded Chicken Burritos -
Take 1 large tortilla, add refried beans (I warm a large can with about 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup grated cheese, and 1/4 cup salsa), shredded chicken, and grated cheese. Then I roll them, and wrap them in tinfoil, stick them in a freezer ziploc and freeze. When you're ready to serve them, unwrap and microwave for 1 minute, turn over, and warm 1 minute more (maybe 2 depending on your microwave.) Of course, you can have them fresh too, then make up your leftovers into more burritos to freeze.

Labels: burritos, chicken, crock pot, freezer, Mexican, OAMC, soup, Tacos

Use 4 cups pinto beans. Sort beans to remove any bad beans and rocks. Put beans in a large (6 quart) kettle. Cover with water and let soak overnight. About 4 hours before serving time start beans cooking. Bring to a rapid boil then reduce heat. Boil gently, covered. Check water level and add boiling water as needed. After cooking, salt to taste.

Grandpa Christensen's favorite food out at the ranch was good old pinto beans. "We were pretty well brought up on beans," quoted Grandpa.

Note: Add anything you want after cooking. Used to add bacon or ham. Sometimes a cube of butter.

(This is the recipe from my family cookbook. I usually cook 3 cups of beans for my family of 8, in a 4 1/2 quart pan. The trick is that you can't salt or season beans until they are completely cooked - if you salt or add any acid to them before they are cooked, they will stay hard.)

Labels: Basics, beans, food storage, Mexican, soup

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 or 3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
5 or 6 potatoes, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste

Saute 1 diced onion and 2 chopped cloves garlic in 3 T. butter, add diced carrots and celery. Pour in 4 cups chicken broth, and diced potatoes. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 can corn, grated cheese, bacon bits, etc. as desired.

Labels: crock pot, potatoes, soup