Things you can do with a bag of dry beans... Canning and other uses...

Alright you know that bag of dry beans sitting in the back of your pantry? 

Yes the one that has been there for 3+ years.... (You know who you are). 

It's time to put those things to use. 

Things you can do with a bag of dry beans.

• Make bean bags for a games (such as corn-hole). This is a fun endeavor if you have kids about middle school age and it teaches them some skills (as in some basic sewing and measuring).
• Cut two squares of fabric in the desired size (five- to six-inch squares should do the trick). Sew together the two squares by sewing three sides of the square, leaving one side open to create a pouch. Use a funnel to fill the square with beans. Sew the fourth side closed to complete the bag. 
• Make heated weighted neck/shoulder wraps. Let me tell you, carrying around and nursing babies can result in sore neck muscles. So if you are prone to a stiff neck, use beans to make your own heating pad to relieve those sore muscles. This is also great for travel.
• Cut fabric into two equal sizes (a long rectangle is great for draping over your neck) and sew them together like a pillowcase. Fill with beans (and lavender if you like), then sew the final side to close up the bag. Heat it up in the microwave (1-1.5 min) before using for nice, warm relief. Add extra relief  with a few drops of lavender essential oil.
• Plant them - yes for real. I planted several last year just to see if they would grow - 5 out of 8 did. 
• Use them as pie crust weights. Just be sure to line your pie crust with foil or parchment paper first. You can reuse them over and over for this too.
• DIY Maracas. 
• Fill plastic Easter eggs with beans, tape together, place egg between two plastic spoons, and then use some fun colored tape to cover the whole thing. (Side note... this noise maker does not have batteries you can remove... food for thought),  you may need the neck pillow after this.
• Sensory play for children. 
• A sensory tub is a plastic tub filled with things to help young kids and toddlers develop their senses, explore textures and use their imagination. You can use a large Tupperware; it doesn't need to be fancy.  Usually, a sensory tub has a base filler (i.e. sand, rice, shredded paper, water beads or, of beans)The dried beans keep for a long time, letting you reuse the same sensory bin again and again with different toys. This is a great one for those rainy days where your small child needs something to do but can't play outside OR take it outside and have fun outside with it - it's mobile. 
• Can them for cooking! 

Canning dry beans has some advantages. 

• They are widely available at most grocery stores
• No preservatives and you know every ingredient used
• They are cheap - considerably cheaper than buying them already canned.
• You can always have them on hand for meals.

How do you can beans? 

I use the dry canning method. I find that soaking them overnight first makes them too mushy when I can them and I am going to be cooking them with meals, soups and such anyway so I would like them to be a little firm. That said - trust me they are cooked ALL THE WAY THROUGH still.

Things you need:

Beans (ANY dry bean you'd like, Navy, Pinto, Black, Red, Lima...)

Pressure Canner

Large Bowl

Kosher Salt (optional)

Quart or Pint sized Canning Jars

Lids and rims

Jar Lifter

So first thing WASH your beans. You would be surprised how dirty they can be. I don't know how well they are washed in factories prior to being canned but I know how well they are washed in my house. Pour them into a big bowl and run cold water over them while stirring. Rinse and repeat until the water runs clear.

Using CLEAN canning jars measure: 

For QUARTS:

1 Cup dry beans per Quart.

1 tsp kosher salt (optional)

For PINTS:

1/2 Cup dry beans per pint.

1/2 tsp kosher salt (optional)

Fill with boiling water leaving 1 inch of head space. Place new lids and rims on jars and tighten rims to finger tightness. Place into canner.

Process your jars adjusting for altitude and size of jars. So for my altitude I use 10 lbs of pressure for 75 mins for pint size jars and 90 mins for quarts. 

NOTE: if you have both Pints and Quarts in your canner together you will need process for Quarts (so 90min)

Follow the instructions for your canner.  I have a weighted-gauge canner so I have to let the steam go full blast for 10 min prior to starting my timer. 

Here is the link for the National Center for Home Food Preservation

Table 1. Recommended process time for Beans or Peas in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot	Pints	75 min	11 lb	12 lb	13 lb	14 lb
	Quarts	90	11	12	13	14

Table 2. Recommended process time for Beans or Peas in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot	Pints	75 min	10 lb	15 lb
	Quarts	90	10	15

Make sure that once your time is up, that you shut the stove off and WAIT until the pressure is back to zero! DO NOT open your canner until the pressure is gone. Once the pressure is back to zero, then you can take your jars out and set them somewhere where they won't be in a draft to cool.

  
In case you were wondering, the jars are piping hot when they come out of the canner. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES do you loosen, or open the rims or lids. There is a great deal of pressure in these jars before they cool.

Once you are comfortable with that process, you can start to experiment with spices and such.  Here is the recipe I use to make my homemade chili beans. These are great for chili dogs, crock pot chili, spicing up Taco Tuesday, 

Recipe for dry canning method for Chili Beans in Quarts. 

(just cut measurements in 1/2 for pints.)

1 C dry kidney beans (sometimes I use pinto)

1/4 C tomato sauce

1/2 tsp canning or kosher salt

1 tsp smoked paprika (yes the smoked makes a difference, but regular works too)

1 tsp granulated garlic (use minced if that is what you have)

1 tsp granulated onion (minced onion works too, I have even just diced up onion)

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp cayenne (optional - I like the heat)