Three Bean and Beef Jerky Stew

Did you guys know I used to hate beans? I mean, seriously; I hated them like Pythagoras hated them (okay, I never thought they were evil since I don’t believe in that concept). I'm not entirely sure what happened to change my mind, since I suspect the beans haven't changed a bit. I guess the extraordinary amount of effort I put into overcoming that dislike, but it feels like there was more magic than effort involved. I really hated beans. I also wanted to be less reliant on flesh for my larger protein needs, so that probably also helped me stop hating them.

I didn't have any raw meat in the house the first time I made this, so I just cut up some jerky instead. That was a pretty good solution, so that’s what I do now instead of thawing a small portion of meat. I do this with a lot of soups and stews when I’m too lazy to thaw and cut meat. Jerky can be cut with scissors, after all, and there really isn’t ever a time I don’t have it. Mostly I do it with personal sized soups, but still happens more often than y’all’d expect. Jerky is really costly, but it’s a phenomenal backup plan as well.

Here’s what you’ll need

1 cup dry adzuki beans (little red ones)
1 cup dry lima beans
1 cup dry black eyed peas
2 carrots, cut up
3/4 cup each: chopped, cooked sweet potato and chopped celery
1/2 onion, cut up
4 cups water and broth mixture (I used half chicken broth and half water)
1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, including liquid - cut these up with a knife while they’re still in the can)
1/2 cup beef jerky, cut into 1/2" or so pieces
salt to taste
3 dried limes (omani)

Here’s what you’ll do

Put the beans in bowls and soak overnight (or all day, as the case may be). Combine all the ingredients in a large casserole dish and cover with a lid. Bake at 275 overnight, then eat for lunch. Serves 8.

For slow cookers, which is really how most of y’all will make this: soak your beans overnight or all day (preferably all day), then combine everything in your slow cooker and let it go on low heat overnight. Please don’t cook the beans ahead of time or in your IP, bc this recipe is specifically for soaked but not cooked beans. If you choose to ignore me, the mush in your mouth is not my fault, so don’t get upset with me if that’s what happened.