Pre-Soaking Beans - Instant Pot

One of the best things abut the Instant Pot is preparing dried beans. Here is my method and quantities for my eight-quart Instant Pot.

5 C rinsed and sorted black beans
10 C hot water
5 t salt

Seal the lid of the Instant Pot, make sure that the pressure valve is closed, and hit the pressure cook button. Set at 4 minutes (when you push the button and set the time, wait for a few seconds and it will beep and will say "On"). It will turn off and it will automatically turn on the "Keep Warm" function. Let it run for 10 minutes and then turn the pot off. Let the pressure normalizes naturally or you will spray bean juice all over your kitchen.

Note: Only fill the Instant Pot half full for cooking beans because they expand when they cook.

Rinse beans and use in your favorite recipes (soups, salads, etc) for the week. You can freeze them for later as well.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Spinach Taco Packets

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Spinach Taco Packets

These were so delicious. Our family cooked these packets on our campfire on our last camping trip, but you could easily do it on a grill as well. Five packets easily fed four adults, six kids, and one dog.

Contents for one packet (each packet makes approx 4 tacos):

1/2 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken
2 T taco seasoning
1/2 sweet potato cut into 1/2 " chunks
1 c fresh spinach
1/2 c seasoned black beans, drained


taco toppings:
Cojita cheese, crumbled
salsa


Make a large double-layer of foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the sweet potato chunks. Crumble the uncooked meat over the top of the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Add black beans and spinach. Crimp the foil over the top and seal the packets allowing some space for air inside. Cook over hot coals or on the grill for 15 minutes. Be cautious opening the packets so you don't get burned by the steam. Serve with taco toppings and corn or flour soft shell tortillas, hard taco shells, or tortilla chips.