Dried beans are quite inexpensive, easily available, high in protein, fiber, and Saponin which lowers cholesterol.
Most of them are quite mild in taste and matches with almost everything. You can add them in soup, salad (replace pasta with beans!) stew, or whatever you can fancy.
It is super worth "storing cooked beans in your freezer" to save your time when cooking.
Here is a quick guide of how to cook and freeze beans.
What you need: (this would give you 6 cups of cooked beans.)
2 cups of dried beans (in this case, I used chic peas.)
1 Large bowl
Enough water to cover beans
Info: This bean is called by different names in different continent. Chic peas are common name in English speaking countries, but it is also known as Garbanzo bean which is Spanish name for the same bean. Smaller version of this beans is called Channa in India, very commonly used in variety of dishes. In Japan, they are called "Hiyoko Mame" and direct translation is chic pea. So it's the same thing.
Directions:
1) Soak beans in water overnight.
2) Drain water, and place the soaked bean with fresh water into a pressure cooker.
Tips: If pressure cooker is not available, use the deep cooking pot. It just takes longer to cook, but it's the same thing. You can also use Crock pot (slow cooker).
3) If using pressure cooker, read user's manual and cook until beans are tender. It usually takes 15 minutes or so.
4) Let ut cool
5) Rinse with water and drain.
6) Place them in plastic bag and freeze.
How to thaw frozen beans:
If you have time, just leave it in the fridge to defrost overnight.
If you are in a hurry, pour boiling water over the frozen beans.