Frugal Homemade Bean Recipes

We cook beans quite a bit, and they are both inexpensive and a healthy protein substitute. Here is one my simplest bean recipes which is wonderful over rice:

Easy Beans and Rice

-Any bag of dried bean, although navy bean or black beans are especially good.
- 1 TB onion powder
- 1 chicken or beef bouillon cube
- 1 tb pepper
- 1 tb salt
- 1 tb Italian herbs
- 1 TB garlic
- 1/2 tumeric
- a few stocks of chopped celery
Optional: Chopped ham or other bits of leftover meat

Beans tend to take a long time to cook, so leave some time to let these simmer on the stove early in the day. Follow the recipe for the dry beans off the package. I usually soak mine over night. Serve over rice.

The seasonings are made to taste, so experiment with them. I found that the key to flavor was adding quite a bit of onion powder. Even adding chopped onions doesn't enhance the taste like the onion powder. Adding lots of pepper gives it a nice kick. I'd recommend adding chopped ham or sausage; the meat is really delicious with lots of pepper.

More frugal bean recipes I've made from scratch. Most of these recipes are from my More-With-Less Recipe Book(see sidebar):

Caribbean Rice and Beans and Brazilian Rice and Beans

Rice and Beans Casserole

Pinto Bean Bread

Three Bean Casserole

Potato-Topped Chili Loaf

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Henna: All Natural Hair Dye Review

Henna is an excellent natural dye which also conditions the hair. Henna is a crushed and sifted plant which penetrates the hair shaft and lasts longer than commercial temporary hair dyes. I used it successfully several years ago when I decided to go red. I'm thinking about trying it again, only this time I 'd like to cover all the gray which has appeared in great quantities around my hairline near my face.

Last time I used a henna hair dye, I ordered from Everyday Mehndi which had an excellent long lasting pure product and fast shipping. Click through here to see the color chart for hair. They have additive-free henna dyes for black and shades of brown, red and blond.

Questions and answers about Everyday Mehndi henna.

Here's a picture from another site of how well henna dyes gray hair.

Is henna safe? Some warnings about premixed store bought and false henna.

The downside to henna is that you do need to leave it on for several hours, it stains everything, it smells like hay, and you have to prepare the henna mix yourself. In the past, I've mixed the henna in a large glass mixing bowl and used a wooden spatula to glop it on. I wore plastic gloves to squish it throughout my hair. Then I piled my hair up, and wrapped it with plastic wrap and then a warm towel. I learned to put Vaseline on my neck to avoid stains on my skin. So it is a bit time consuming and messy, but the chemical-free results are great.

Note: After about three months of henna applications, I did have some problems with hair loss/dry hair using 100% pure organic henna(body art quality). Store bought henna often has mineral salts added which can dry the hair, but mine was pure. I've since learned that I did not rinse the stuff out properly. It should be rinsed and shampooed thoroughly, followed by a conditioner. There should not be stains on your towels after you are done.