Comfort Food

I think I have dropped my camera one to many times. My pictures from last night's dinner were either blurry or "unknown format". Did I mention the batteries were being held in with masking tape? *sighs* New camera, definitely going on Christmas list.

It is probably for the best anyway. When I took the picture my husband said, "Are you going to put that on your blog? That isn't a real meal!" Well, maybe not to him, but it was for me. Food can carry memories with it, and for the last few days I've felt like some "comfort" food.

My grandmother lived with us for many years and she could make the best pot of pinto beans and cornbread you have ever seen! She made a pot every week and we would eat it one night, then use the leftovers to make chili or homemade burritos. It was the best and we never tired of it, at least I don't remember getting tired of it. Over the years and many burned bean pots later, I have finally found the trick to making her beans. My fried cornbread still isn't quite there, but it will do for now. My husband and children don't like this meal so I usually only make it when my brother comes home from the air force for a visit.

With the nice fall breezes blowing, I felt like making some, so I did. It is really easy, especially now that my sister-in-law Jenny told me to stop cooking it on the stove and use a crock pot. No more burnt pans that stink up the house! (I just keep forgetting that I'm cooking something that takes that long).

Here is what I do:
1. I rinse and sort the beans from a 1 lbs bag. I take out any small debris (stones, dirt) and any beans that are dried out. Just think "take out the ugly beans".
2. I cover them with water and let them sit all night.
3. I rinse them again before putting them in the crock pot and covering with new water. I put them on high and forget about them all day. (There are other cooking directions for stove top on the back of the bags.)
4. About an hour before eating, I will sprinkle them with salt and add 1/4 cup bacon grease. Yes, I said bacon grease (I save it on the rare occasions we have it and store it in the fridge). I don't care how unhealthy it sounds, it gives the best flavor and it isn't much for a whole pound of beans. You can substitute some healthier form of butter or margarine if you want.
5. Make some cornbread and enjoy.

The best thing is that beans that you cook yourself are lower in sodium than the ones you buy in a can. They are also a great source of cholesterol lowering fiber, when paired with a whole grain like brown rice it is a virtually fat free high quality protein. Beans have many other healthy qualities and you can learn about many of them at The World's Healthiest Foods . You can drain them and divide up the beans into baggies (about 2 cups per bag) and freeze them if you want and then just pull them out whenever a recipe calls for a can of beans.