Spilling the beans on saving

A few days this week, I decided I would cook with what I had in the kitchen.  Being a vegetarian means I have lots of staples, including beans.  What to do with beans, hmmm...used the dried navy beans Sunday to make baked beans...used the pinto beans Friday to make chili....still more beans, and lentils, and split peas, and some type of french green lentil.  Well, I finally decided I wanted to be a little lazy and I didn't have time to soak and cook the beans first, so it was off to the inventory of canned beans.  This is where I discovered the versatile garbanzo bean or chickpea.  I consulted my computer and  found a few recipes that used them and finally decided on Indian night.  I could use up almost all of my veggies with that.  Peas, potatoes, cauliflower, onions, as well as the kale that was two days beyond its best by date.  The results were great, and you can see my adapted recipe on the recipe tab. 

Purchasing dried beans is one of the most economical ways to replace meat in your dishes.  A one pound bag of beans is about $1.50 and makes about 10 servings.  A good thing to remember when and if you are questioning whether you can afford to go vegetarian.