Freezer Meals: Beans

Beans, beans. The magical fruit. Well...you know how the rest goes. They are inexpensive, filling, and nutritious. Here is a great dried-to-canned-beans-conversion that I got from this blog: http://be-it-ever-so-humble.blogspot.com. When I no longer have bags under my eyes, I plan on restocking my freezer with individual bags of cooked beans, ready for recipes.

---
Here is a conversion chart that I compiled to help me use more dry beans. All numbers are approximate, of course, but they've worked for me so far.

A standard can of beans is 15 ounces. Small bags of beans you get at the store are usually 1 pound, but sometimes 2.
---
1 15-ounce can of beans equals:

• 1/2 cup dry beans, before cooking
  
• 1 1/2 cups beans, after cooking
  

1 pound dry beans equals:

• 2 cups dry beans, before cooking
• 6 cups beans, after cooking
  
• 4 15-ounce cans of beans
  

1 part dry beans equals:

• 3 parts cooked beans

Beans & Rice
Serves 16
Weight Watchers Points: 7

This recipe is adapted from my stepsister Cristiana. Beans can be dressed up in so many ways, so don't be afraid to add whatever you like. When I made this meal, I tried to pay attention to measurements so I could figure out how many WW points I was eating, but usually I just throw in whatever. I got 2 large meals out of this batch. To freeze: Let beans cool, then put in a ziploc freezer bag, label & date. To serve, just thaw and warm on the stove or in your crockpot. I cook my rice in a cooker the day of.

1 lb. dried pinto beans
1 lb. center cut bacon, cooked and drained and broken into bite size pieces ( bake in 375 oven for abt. 20-25 min., or until desired crispness)
1 onion, chopped
3 small cans diced chiles
green onions
tomato, chopped
6 oz. can tomato paste
3 T. beef bouillon granules (add this when beans are tender)
1 bay leaf
8 cups cooked white rice

There's no need to soak the beans. Just throw them in the crockpot along with the other ingredients (except for salt or bouillon). Cover with water to the top. Cook on HIGH for about 5 hours or until the beans are tender.