If you live in
Texas, you gotta love you some 'Ranch Style' beans. While I love a
good ole pot of plain pintos beans to go with my cornbread, my
favorite type of beans when I was growing up were the Great Western
'Ranch Style' beans. In fact, I still love 'Ranch Style' beans!
Sometimes known as 'western', 'chili' or 'cowboy' beans, they are a
combination of pinto beans, tomato paste, sugar and spices cooked
just right, not to spicy and not to sweet. I have a recipe in which I
add all the ingredients into quart mason jars and can them, but
because so many of you do not have the equipment to can your own
beans, I wanted to share my crockpot version with you.
As I have mentioned
in several of my posts, it is winter once again and the cool weather
is a perfect time to dust off those soup, stews and chili recipes.
While I love my beans, sometimes there just never seems to be enough
time in the day to get everything done that you need to do. That is
where slow cookers or 'crock pots' come to the rescue.
These simple devices make it easy for you to gather all your ingredients and throw them in to pot, turn it on and walk away returning after several hours to a hot cooked meal. Well...not exactly, but they do make your life easier when it comes to cooking certain types of dishes. And beans do well when cooked in a crockpot or slow cooker. Slow cookers allow you load up the cooker overnight or during the day before you go to work and have a fresh hot meal waiting for you when you get home. The following is my recipe for 'Ranch Style' beans and it makes about 8 to 10 four ounce servings.
These simple devices make it easy for you to gather all your ingredients and throw them in to pot, turn it on and walk away returning after several hours to a hot cooked meal. Well...not exactly, but they do make your life easier when it comes to cooking certain types of dishes. And beans do well when cooked in a crockpot or slow cooker. Slow cookers allow you load up the cooker overnight or during the day before you go to work and have a fresh hot meal waiting for you when you get home. The following is my recipe for 'Ranch Style' beans and it makes about 8 to 10 four ounce servings.
Ranch Style Beans
2 cups of dried
pinto beans (soaked overnight)
¼ cup diced onion
1 ½ teaspoons
chicken bouillon
3 teaspoons beef
bouillon
3 tablespoons tomato
paste
1 teaspoon ground
chile's (5 Ancho, 3 California, 3 New Mexico)
1 teaspoon brown
sugar
1 teaspoon minced
garlic
¼ teaspoon black
pepper
¼ teaspoon ground
cumin
¼ teaspoon garlic
powder
¼ teaspoon onion
powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon oregano
Chef's Note: I
grind my own chile's to make a chile powder I take dried chile's (5
ancho, 3 California, and 3 New Mexico) cut off the tops and remove
the seeds. I then place them on a cookie sheet and roast them in a
300 degrees oven for 2-3 minutes. For more information on making your
own chile powder you can check out my video. Episode 2: HomemadeChile Powder.
Sort though and
remove any small rocks you may find. Yes, I said small rocks, as I
generally find at least one in every bag of pinto beans I buy and you
really do not want to break a tooth. Add the pinto beans to the crock
and cover with 2 to 4 inches of water, then soak the dried beans
overnight. They will absorb a lot of water and will double in size
overnight. In the morning drain the water (pour it in your
houseplants or garden, why waste it) and add 5 cups of fresh water to
the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and set your slow
cooker on the desired temperature (Low or High).
The only decision
left to make is to determine when you want your beans to be ready. If
you want to be able to eat your 'Ranch Style' beans within the next 5
to 6 hours then cook them on high. If however you are wanting to cook
the beans over night, or you want it took cook while you are at the
office or running errands, then set the heat to low and cook for 8 to
10 hours. If cooking overnight, you may also want to increase the
amount of water from from 5 to 6 cups as you will not be around to
monitor the moisture content and you do not want your beans to run
dry and get scorched.
Cost Analysis
So lets look at the
actual cost of our homemade 'Ranch Style' beans versus the most
popular commercially prepared 'Ranch Style' or 'Chili' beans
available on supermarket shelves here in Texas. I realize that in
other parts of the country there may be different brands and prices
may very, but the following prices are pertinent as of 10/2015 here
in East Texas.
Great Western 'Ranch Style' beans $0.86 for 15oz can ($0.057 cents per ounce)
Great Value 'Chili' beans $0.72 for 15oz can ($0.048 cents per ounce)
Bush's 'Chili' beans $0.92 for 15oz can ($0.059 cents per ounce)
Slow Cooker 'Ranch Style' beans $1.26 for 40 ounces ($0.031 cents per ounce) A 50% Savings over store bought!
Pinto beans $0.96 ($0.07 cents per ounce), onion $0.10 (5lbs for $1.00), garlic $0.10 (approx), seasoning and spices $0.10, for a total cost of about $1.26 or $0.03 cents per ounce for homemade 'Ranch Style' beans. Any way you look at it, making your own 'Ranch Style' beans at home saves you 50% over commercially prepared brands and the flavor as well as the nutritional value is greatly enhanced when you make your own. To validate the nutritional claim, let's look at the following ingredients list.
Great Western 'Ranch Style' beans $0.86 for 15oz can ($0.057 cents per ounce)
Great Value 'Chili' beans $0.72 for 15oz can ($0.048 cents per ounce)
Bush's 'Chili' beans $0.92 for 15oz can ($0.059 cents per ounce)
Slow Cooker 'Ranch Style' beans $1.26 for 40 ounces ($0.031 cents per ounce) A 50% Savings over store bought!
Pinto beans $0.96 ($0.07 cents per ounce), onion $0.10 (5lbs for $1.00), garlic $0.10 (approx), seasoning and spices $0.10, for a total cost of about $1.26 or $0.03 cents per ounce for homemade 'Ranch Style' beans. Any way you look at it, making your own 'Ranch Style' beans at home saves you 50% over commercially prepared brands and the flavor as well as the nutritional value is greatly enhanced when you make your own. To validate the nutritional claim, let's look at the following ingredients list.
The Ingredients
So is making your
own 'Ranch Style' or 'Chili' beans more healthy? In my opinion that
is a definite yes! Just to emphasize my point, let's take a look at
the ingredient list of the Great Western 'Ranch Style' bean
ingredients versus our homemade beans.
Great Western 'Ranch Style' Beans: Pinto beans, water, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), less than 2% of: blend vf vegetable oils and animal fat (partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and rendered beef fat), salt, chili peppers, sugar, paprika, vinegar, spices, onion powder, garlic powder, natural flavorings, soy lecithin.
Slow Cooker Homemade: Pinto beans, tomato paste, onions, garlic, paprika, salt, sugar, ground chile peppers (Ancho, California, New Mexico), cumin, black pepper, oregano, chicken bouillon*, beef bouillon* and water.
Great Western 'Ranch Style' Beans: Pinto beans, water, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), less than 2% of: blend vf vegetable oils and animal fat (partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and rendered beef fat), salt, chili peppers, sugar, paprika, vinegar, spices, onion powder, garlic powder, natural flavorings, soy lecithin.
Slow Cooker Homemade: Pinto beans, tomato paste, onions, garlic, paprika, salt, sugar, ground chile peppers (Ancho, California, New Mexico), cumin, black pepper, oregano, chicken bouillon*, beef bouillon* and water.
*Because powdered
bouillon tends to be high in sodium, I do not add any additional salt
to the crockpot when making beans. You
can adjust the seasonings when you open the jars and heat up the
contents. In addition, some powdered bouillon's like the Knoor
brand that I use contain MSG which you may not want to use. For more information on powdered bouillon's check out my article Restaurants Use Them So Should You?
Now I do not know about you, but if you are concerned about what you and your family eat, I definitely know which chili I would rather serve my loved ones. I am not saying that commercially prepared ranch style or chili beans are bad or that you should avoid them, I am simply stating that if you want to avoid certain ingredients, and wish to limit the extra stuff in pre-processed foods that your family consumes, then making your own beans is far cheaper as well as being healthier for you and your loved ones.
Now I do not know about you, but if you are concerned about what you and your family eat, I definitely know which chili I would rather serve my loved ones. I am not saying that commercially prepared ranch style or chili beans are bad or that you should avoid them, I am simply stating that if you want to avoid certain ingredients, and wish to limit the extra stuff in pre-processed foods that your family consumes, then making your own beans is far cheaper as well as being healthier for you and your loved ones.
No Chile Grind
Variation
Because I know many
of you may not want to grind your own chile's I have modified the
following recipe to use a commercial chili powder. Now commercial
chili powders contain cumin, salt, paprika, as well as a blend of
various chile's. No two are the same, but they are all similar. I do
not think this recipe is as good as grinding your own, but it is
easier, and it is 'minimalist' pantry friendly.
Ranch Style Beans
2 cups of dried
pinto beans (soaked overnight)
¼ cup diced onion
1 ½ teaspoons
chicken bouillon
3 teaspoons beef
bouillon
3 tablespoons tomato
paste
2 teaspoons chile
powder
1 teaspoon brown
sugar
1 teaspoon minced
garlic
¼ teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon black
pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic
powder
1/8 teaspoon onion
powder
Conclusion
The flavor of this
recipe is pretty close to the original Great Western brand of 'Ranch
Style' beans, and my family loves them! They have become one of the
most popular side dishes served with any grilled, smoked, BBQ or
baked foods our family eats. That is a good thing as they are not
only inexpensive to make, but they are a good additional source of
protein and fiber. Besides, 'Ranch Style' beans go with just about
anything. And did I mention, making your own 'Ranch Style' beans at home saves
you 50% over the store bought brands?
Slow cookers help
you stretch your food budget by making if convenient to cook meals
slowly overnight or during the day why you are at the office, or
spending the day running errands. Cooking meals at home allows you to
stretch your food budget and keeps you from spending your hard earned
money at the drive though on the way home from a busy day. As always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with
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