Hearty Black Bean Soup

1 cup tomato salsa
2 (15 ½ oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Sour cream, optional

Heat the salsa in a large saucepan for about 5 minutes. Add beans and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.
Let the soup cool slightly, then ladle half of it into a food processor or blender and puree it. Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in the lime juice and chopped cilantro and heat the mixture through. Serve the soup warm, topped with sour cream. Serves 4.
This recipe is also very successful using dry beans. Simply sort, rinse and soak the beans overnight. Cook the beans until tender before adding the remaining ingredients.

Ham and Bean Soup

3 cups dry pinto beans
Ham bone
1 yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf, dry
Salt and pepper to taste

Sort and rinse beans; soak them in a generous amount of water overnight. Next morning, rinse beans once more and add fresh hot water to cover several inches above the surface of the beans. This will be the broth, so add as much as desired. Add ham bone, onion, and bay leaf to the pan. Cover and cook on medium-high until beans are very tender—this could be anywhere from 2-8 hours, depending on how old the beans are. Remove from heat. Remove ham bone from the pan and slice any good meat on the bone to return to the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf just before service. If a thicker soup is desired, puree with a stick blender.

Southwestern Pinto Beans

1 pound dry pinto beans
½ lb bacon, chopped
2 cups chopped onion
3 minced garlic cloves
¼ tsp pepper
1 quart tomatoes + juice
2-3 Tbsp chili powder
½ tsp oregano leaves
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cumin

Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse. Cover with water and simmer for 3-4 hours or until tender. In large skillet, crisp bacon, onion, and garlic. Do not drain. Add bacon mixture, tomato sauce, and spices to beans. Stir well. Simmer, uncovered, for an additional 20-30 minutes

Cowboy Beans

1-2 pounds ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
left-over cooked beans: pinto, black, white
1 or 2 cans of pork and beans
ketchup
mustard

Brown 1-2 pounds of ground beef in a large fry pan. Drain fat and add one chopped, yellow onion, cooking until translucent. Add to the pan any drained, left-over beans from previous meals. (Pinto, black, pink, great northern all work well.) Stir in one or two cans of pork ‘n beans. Add ketchup and mustard to taste. Heat through and serve. Children love it because this is what cowboys eat! Husbands love it because its hardy and filling.

Bean Dip

3/4 cup of dried pinto beans (about 2 cups cooked)
water
1/2 tsp salt
juice of half a lemon
1 TB mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce

Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse beans the next day and cover with water again. Cook on medium-low heat until tender. Drain beans and reserve liquid. Place the cooked beans and remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid until desired thickness is achieved. Garnish with fresh green onions or chives. Serve with vegetables and corn chips.

Pinto Bean Fudge

I know, I know. It doesn't sound great. But it is a creamy, delicious fudge that never has a grainy texture. It tastes like chocolate, not beans! Check out the other options for utilizing dry beans here.
1 cup cooked pinto beans, drained
1 TB vanilla extract
6 TB unsweetened baking chocolate
6 TB butter
2 pounds powdered confectioner sugar

Puree 1 cup of soft, cooked pinto beans with a dash of milk to reach the consistency of mashed potatoes. Make sure they are smooth. Add 1 TB of vanilla to the bean mixture.

In a double boiler, melt
6 TB unsweetened baking chocolate and 6 TB of butter.

Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the beans and stir until slightly thickened.

Work in 2 pounds of powdered confectioner sugar.
Knead the mixture until smooth and spread into a 9x13 buttered baking dish. Refrigerate.

Knead mixture until smooth texture is achieved.

Spread new fudge into a buttered dish and chill until set.
It can then be cut into bite-sized pieces.
Set into paper candy cups to serve.

Beans for Butter

Dry beans can be used as a fat substitute in most baking. I have successfully used black beans, pinto beans, white beans and pink beans. My latest attempt was making black bean brownies. "You can't tell there are beans in here" was just what I wanted to hear. I simply replaced the oil and butter straight across, in equal amounts, with a smooth black bean puree. Here are some great guidelines. Try it out!
Use cooked beans (either from a can or beans that you've soaked and cooked) and puree them in a blender. Liquid may be added to adjust the consistency. Puree the cooked beans until they reach the consistency of mashed potatoes or shortening. Use 1 cup of pureed beans for 1 cup of butter oil or margarine.
Using these pureed beans will give your baked goods a more cake-like texture. Cookies will never become crisp. They will, however, be moist and delicious, even after freezing them.
Another method is to use dry bean flour. (Best to use light-colored beans for this!) Grind the beans in a wheat grinder to achieve a fine flour. When you need "cooked beans" in a recipe, add 1 cup of bean flour to 2 cups of boiling water, whisking to incorporate. Simmer 5 minutes, covered. This is make a very smooth bean mixture, ready to use in baking.
Bean flour can also be used in baked goods as part of the wheat flour. This is great protein complementing in breads. Replace up to 25% of the wheat flour with bean flour within a recipe. Dry bean flour has a shelf life of 6 months without refrigeration.
Dry Bean Arithmetic
1 pound package= 2 cups dry beans= 5-6 cups cooked beans, drained
1 cup of dry beans=2 1/2-3 cups cooked beans, drained
1 can(15 1/2 ounces) beans= 1 generous cup of cooked beans
1 pound dry beans= 5 cups dry bean flour