Always keep several cans of beans in your pantry. It doesn’t matter if they are black beans, lima beans, garbanzo beans or white northern beans. You can whip up a snack, salad or soup in just minutes without any special ingredients.
Soup:
Boil water in a large pot. Drain and rinse two cans of beans. Put the beans in the boiling water. Add any left over vegetables such as celery, carrots, parsley, onions, zuchini, broccoli or cabbage. Chop the vegetables in bit size pieces and add to the soup. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil and lemon pepper spice. If you have some left over meat or chicken add it to the soup. The entire prep and cooking time is less than one hour.
Dips:
Need a quick dip for company open a can of any beans. Drain and rinse the beans. Put the beans in your blender and add olive oil, lemon juice, one garlic clove and season to taste. Blend until smooth. Serve with crackers, carrots and celery.
Salads
Drain and rinse one can of beans. Chop up celery, mushrooms, cabbage, green onions, . Mix the veggies with the beans. Add either peanuts or walnuts. Add left over chicken, pork or beef. Make a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Serve as a side dish or main course.