Weekly Quickie {wink,wink!} Here is your weekly dose of something motivational!
Make it a GREAT week!
SIMPLE WAY to Make Dried Beans
14 JunDried Beans Made Simple …
If you’ve never made beans from scratch, don’t be intimidated. It’s a pretty easy process and one worth mastering.
While there’s nothing wrong with cooking canned beans, nothing beats making them from scratch using dried ones.
I love beans & making them from scratch. I also love my slow-cooker. Lucky for me, it just so happens that beans and slow-cookers make excellent friends!
Here’s how it works…
Beans cook best over a low, steady heat. This lets them absorb liquid evenly and prevents the skins from splitting. Low, steady heat? Sounds like a job for the slow-cooker!
I also like cooking beans in the slow cooker because it lets us cook several pounds of dry beans at once. I set aside what we need right away and freeze the rest for later. *See freezing note below
Slow-Cooker Beans:
1 16-oz bag of dried beans (or more, if desired) Water 2 teaspoons salt (per 16-oz bag)
If desired, soak beans overnight in plenty of cool water. Opinions vary, but I have found this decreases some of our digestion issues.
In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. Discard any beans that floated to the top of the water or look otherwise unsavory.
Pour the beans to your slow cooker. If using more than one bag, be sure that you leave a few inches of clearance at the top of your slow cooker. Add a teaspoon of salt and enough fresh water so the beans are covered by an inch or two. Cover and set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
At the 4 hour mark, add another teaspoon of salt, stir the beans, and eat a few to see how far the beans have cooked. Continue checking every half hour or so, and stop cooking when the beans have reached your desired softness. I don’t usually cook the beans for the full 8 hours unless I’m doing a mashed bean recipe, but I like the temperature range on the 8-hour setting for keeping the beans at a low simmer.
After cooking several batches, I have a good idea of when the beans will be done and no longer check doneness every half hour unless we’re cooking a new kind of bean. In my slow cooker, I’ve found that 6 hours is ideal for al dente beans destined for soups (where they will continue cooking a bit), 6 hours is good for ready-to-eat beans, and 8 hours gives us very soft beans.
A few reasons to make your own tasty beans from scratch:
- Canned beans are loaded with ingredients that I don’t know what they are and canned beans often have a lot of sodium.
-
It is much less expensive to buy real food than it is to buy convenience foods. Admittedly, canned beans aren’t that expensive, but dried beans are where it’s at fiscally speaking. A pound of dried beans yields six cups of cooked beans.
Freezing your cooked beans:
Transfer beans in 1 2/3 cup portions to freezer bags or containers. This is the equivalent of one can of beans. Seal them up, removing as much air as possible, and toss them in the freezer. Because they store flat, these take up far less space than the equivalent cans.
Once you’re ready to use the beans, you can move them to the refrigerator or counter to thaw. Now my beans-of-choice are ready to use in hummus, roasted chickpeas, chili, soup, bean salad, refried beans, tacos, burritos…the possibilities are endless!
Check out my You Tube video on cooking beans:
Any other tips for cooking beans in the slow cooker? Let me know if you have any tips that I don’t know about!
Related articles
- Make It: Slow Cooker Bean Soup (theheartyserving.com)
- Slow Cooker Lemon and Thyme Chicken (kielbasarecipesrujer.wordpress.com)
- Slow Cooker Bourbon Pulled Pork (lbm217.wordpress.com)
- Budget Meals: Cooking Dried Beans or Peas in a Slow Cooker (foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com)
Weekly Quickie {wink, wink!}
10 JunWeekly Quickie {wink,wink!} Here is your weekly dose of something motivational!
Make it a GREAT week!
8 Great Ways to Take Your Workout Outdoors
7 JunDitch the gym and take your workout outdoors
Just because it’s fun doesn’t mean it doesn’t work up a sweat!
Torch calories with a game of beach volleyball or a hike in the woods
When the weather outside is wonderful, who wants to spend any time in a stuffy gym? Instead, gather the family and invite your friends to join you out-of-doors for a calorie-blasting good time. These activities make it easy to enjoy the season-and still lose weight, stay motivated, and build sexy, show-off muscles.
-
Volleyball: Even with two left feet and an awful serve, you’re constantly squatting, diving,
jumping, and hitting, -
Pedal off the Pounds: Power up each hill to help tighten and tone your legs, hips, and butt.
- Hit the Trails: You’ll build strong, lovely legs as you soak up nature’s beauty.
- Practice Your Serve: Grab a pal for a game of tennis.
- Tossing a Frisbee: Send your friend on some hard to catch passes.
- Golfing: Carry your clubs, the researchers also found that toting golf bags
contributed to the benefits. - Yard work: Involving a number of different kinds of exercises, including stretching, weightlifting, and a moderate cardiovascular workout.
- Fetch with Fido: Ball tossing can benefit you too!
Even light physical activities—things you view as more fun and leisurely than “fitness”—can reduce stress, punch up your metabolism, and add years to your life. They can also help speed up recovery from traditional workouts and ease sore muscles.
Step off that stairmaster, and take a hike instead. Commune with nature — and blast off calories? It’s a win-win!
Related articles
- Nature As Your Gym: Why you need to take it outdoors. (ajgovoni.wordpress.com)
- Finding the Fun in Workouts While Still Being Productive (daydaily.com)
- Week 1, and why I was completely wrong about pretty much everything (frombrowniestobikini.wordpress.com)
Weekly Quickie {wink, wink!}
3 JunWeekly Quickie {wink,wink!} Here is your weekly dose of something motivational!
Make it a GREAT week!
Spend Less Time With Your Blow Dryer
31 MayChill out: As temps rise, the last thing you want to endure are those hotter-than-asphalt-July hair tools.
So minimize minutes sweltering in the bathroom with these easy updos.
The simplest way to make a classic ballerina bun? The old “twist and pin.” Yes, ladies, it’s really that straight forward: just pull your hair back, twist it until it coils, than slide in enough pins to set off the port-security alarms. Low in the nape looks sophisticated; high on the head is more trendy. And right in the middle is the best for poppin’ a wheelie with those cheekbones. The midway positioning lifts the eye upward, giving your bone structure a subtle lift.
The top knot and messy high bun are popular hair trends that are not going away anytime soon, so if you haven’t tried them already…what are you waiting for?!
The top knot and messy high bun are also super chic and a great option for when you’re wearing an outfit with shoulder or neck detail. One of my biggest style pet peeves is when ladies wear gorgeous tops with exquisite detail and cover it up by wearing their hair down. (What’s the point?!) Sorry. Back to the subject at hand. Below are some tips for creating the perfect top knot & the not so perfect bun.
How To: Top Knot
1. Brush out your hair to remove knots. (Ironic, isn’t it?)
2. Flip your head over and put your hair in a high ponytail at the top of your head and secure with a hair tie. (Use a hair tie color closest to your hair color)
3. Twist, braid, or simply wrap your ponytail hair around the hair tie to create a smooth “knot” and secure with a second hair tie.
4. Use bobby pins to secure any loose pieces.
5. Spray a soft bristle brush with a little bit of hairspray and use to smooth out any frizzies. Viola! You now have a smooth, sleek top knot!
How To: Messy High Bun
1. Flip your head over and put your hair in a messy high ponytail at the top of your head and secure with a hair tie. (Use a hair tie color closest to your hair color.) Note: No need to brush out hair before hand with this look. The messier the better.
2. Pull the ponytail in an upward than downward position, just a tad, to loosen.
3. Loosely wrap ponytail hair around hair tie and secure pieces with bobby pins.
4. Loosen random pieces in front, at sides, back and on top to create the messy look if not created already. Viola! You now have a chic, messy high bun!
How To: Low Side Bun:
- Starting with dry strands I add waves with a large-barrel iron.
- Pull the hair into a low chignon with a clear band.
- Finish it off I bobby pin the pieces randomly for an undone finish.
Either way, now that it’s cool again, I tend to rock this sloppy bun when my hair is dirty and I’m not in the mood to wash it. This style is so easy, a monkey could do it. But there are a few things to keep in mind.
For instance:
* Be careful not to rock your bun too high, ’cause it’ll brush against the roof of your car while driving and you’ll just ruin the damn thing. If you’re a mass transit kind of chick, no worries there.
* Also, if you rock a tight pony, like me, you’re going to want to take this style down as soon as you get home. It can cause loads of stress on your tresses, causing breakage –– especially if you become addicted to this style as I have.
Two fabulous tools of the trade for great looking buns:
High-impact, cuff-inspired holder snap on for a snug fit. Metal and enamel, L/ Erickson Atelier, $22 each; franceluxe.com
The Bumpit’s soft cousin: This mesh doughnut from Claire’s adds girth and structure to your bun.
Why I love it…
1. Your hair will look totally chic, even if you haven’t washed your hair in a week. Frizzy hairline? Greasy roots? Brush it back, shellac with hairspray, and no one needs to know your dirty little secret.
2. It can be done-and, perhaps more important, undone in seconds. Letting your hair down after a long day at work is a bit like doing a hair striptease. Bonus: After being swirled up on your head for hours, your strands will wave-like a mermaid’s.
3. It’s liberating. Whether you’re heading to the office or the opera, there’s something to be said for getting your hair off your face for a while. And if you’re wearing major jewelry or a noteworthy neckline, the ballet bun will put them on center stage.
Go ahead…upgrade your pony!
Related articles
- Try it Tuesday: Messy Bun! (mysmilestyle.wordpress.com)
- How To Style A Messy Bun (abeautifulmess.typepad.com)
- The Sock Bun. (sydneybailey.wordpress.com)
Weekly Quickie {wink, wink!}
27 MayWeekly Quickie {wink,wink!} Here is your weekly dose of something motivational!
Make it a GREAT week!
Around The Plate Community~Live Healthy…Eat Happy!
I’m addicted to…PINTEREST!
