When the weather turns just the least bit cool, I always think about a great big pot of beans and cornbread. Now that goes back to my Texas days as a child growing up. We always had Pinto Beans and I have to admit, they are probably my favorite. However, hubby was born and raised in Los Angeles – (I know, he has to be the only one) – so he missed out on a lot of good old fashioned home cooking Texas Style. His favorite is Navy beans, so that is what I am making. They are a good ole’ Texas standby too.
If I were cooking Pinto Beans they would get just a little ham and some onions plus a little salt and pepper. Navy Beans get ham, onions and a little carrot too. I also had about a cup of chicken broth in the fridge, so I added that to the water too.
l lb Navy Beans – $.99 – 99c Store & Dollar Tree
1 c baby carrots cut in half – $.50 – 99c Store & Dollar Tree – I only used about half the pkg.
1 onion – $.20 – on sale 88c lb.
1 c chicken broth – $.50 – 1/2 can left over from another recipe
Ham – scraps leftover from Father’s Day dinner. (I always save all those odd pieces of ham in a freezer bag for use later. Great for soups and for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Total – $2.19
These even look good cooking in the pot. Simmer half covered on med. low several hours until beans are soft. Add more water as it cooks down, but don’t get too soupy. You want this to be a nice flavored broth, not water.
I have some really nice ham in this pot, that is going to be soooooooooo good.
Cornbread – Ok I do make cornbread from scratch, but this is house cleaning/laundry day, so I am using shortcuts. Having the beans cooking slowly on the stove all day means dinner will be ready when I am tired after all that cleaning. A little shortcut on the cornbread and I will have a fabulous clean house and dinner for my family. I always have this stuff on hand, it really does make decent cornbread and it is so economical too.
You will need two packages for an 8 x 8 dish. – Grease the dish really well.
Pour contents of two packages into a bowl – add 2 beaten eggs and 2/3 c milk. I had some left over half and half so I used 1/3 c milk and 1/3 c half and half. Add 1/4 c sugar & 2 tbl. melted butter and beat until mixed. Do not over mix – it will be lumpy. Pour into your greased pan and let rest for about 3 minutes. Bake in 400° oven for approx 15 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
Jiffy – 3/100 = $.66
Great cornbread, nice and hot and a pat of butter melts in and makes it even better.
This really is such a good meal. We added some chopped green onions and a little shredded cheese as garnishes. Plain is also fabulous, so garnish as you like.
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