Wikibuy is sponsoring today’s post. In exchange for sharing with all of y’all how their site works, I received this Crock-Pot Express Crock Programmable Multi-Cooker. All thoughts, ideas, recipes, pictures, and general silliness contained within this post are solely my own and not necessarily that of our sponsor. Wondering how Wikibuy works? CLICK HERE to watch a 60-second video.
While these creamy navy beans with bacon may take a little bit of time to make, either on a stovetop or with the help of a pressure cooker, they are more than worth the effort. I guarantee you’re totally gonna fall in love with this flavorful southern side dish.
For quite some time, I’ve been ranting and raving about the Instant Pot craze to just about anyone who will listen to me and not walk away. There is no such thing as instant cooking, and as far as I’m concerned, anyone who falls for the hype is going to be sorely disappointed. Cooking is about layering flavors, not throwing everything into a big ol’ pot, hitting a button, and expecting dinner to come out like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen for hours on end. No one in this world can convince me that cooking a pot roast in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes is even comparable to a pot roast that has been slowly braised in an oven for over 3 hours. The same thing goes for crockpots and slow-cookers as well. They have their place in normal everyday cooking, however, you need to know how to use them properly. Ingredients need to be browned or sautéed ahead of time to bring out their natural flavors, not just tossed in willy-nilly and left to simmer for hours. With that being said, I have been considering purchasing a new crockpot or slow-cooker for quite some time now. While I love my dear sweet Miss O’Hara (5-in-1 Crock-Pot Multi-Cooker), she sometimes cooks things at such a low temperature that they don’t break down quite as much as I would like. There are also times when I’m hosting large parties when it would be convenient to have two crockpots instead of just one.
So, when Wikibuy, an automated shopping assistant that shows you prices from several different sites on the products you are most interested in, along with reviews and top alternatives, so that you can get the best price available for the things you want the most, approached me with the offer to try out a product on their website, I knew right away what product I was most interested in. This Crock-Pot Express Crock Programmable Multi-Cooker is so much more than a crockpot because it’s also a pressure cooker and a steamer as well. There is even a brown/sauté setting so that you can prep your ingredients before slowly cooking them using the crockpot setting or cooking them more rapidly using the pressure cooker setting. Why is this setting such a good thing? Well, it means that you have the capability to layer flavors without dirtying tons of dishes. Normally, when using a crockpot, I find myself sautéing onions and browning meat in a large pan beforehand, which means having to clean up twice the amount of dishes. While I’m not a fan of cheating when it comes to cooking, I am a fan of cheating when it comes to cleaning up fewer dishes.
I bet you’re wondering just how well my first experience with this new kitchen appliance went. Oh my gosh, it was an utter nightmare. I decided that I would use the pressure cooker setting first to soften some navy beans in milk and then cook them down further on the stove. The reason for this is that beans take a long time to soften and using the pressure cooker would help speed up the process. Instead of soft beans, I ended up with steamed milk spurting all over the place. I can’t even begin to tell you how many potty words came out of my mouth at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning. I’m fairly certain that B.O.B. Bob and Brenna heard the screaming and wisely stayed away to avoid being hit in the head with a flying pressure cooker lid. After watching several very bad online video tutorials, the only thing I could think was that the seal of the pressure cooker wasn’t on properly when it arrived, which meant that steam and milk were somehow making their way out of the pressure cooker onto every surface of my kitchen. Thankfully after an hour and several adjustments, I managed to correct the problem and finally cook the beans down enough to complete the recipe on the stove. I don’t think I’ve ever loved my stove more y’all.
I will admit, that I can see the use of a pressure cooker when it comes to things like prepping beans, however, I don’t think I’ll be using this feature on my new fancy-dancy crockpot all that much in the future. In the end, it wasn’t quite worth the mess and time involved. I still had to soak the beans overnight to help soften them and make them more digestible, and I had to wait until after they were cooked to add the other ingredients to prevent them from becoming tough from the addition of salt and bacon. I think a big ol’ pot on the stove would have been a much better way to cook them, and after the disastrous cleanup, probably taken way less time. Nope, for the most part, I think I’ll be using this new crockpot with all of its bells and whistles as I originally intended; an extra crockpot and an occasional steamer. I’m pretty sure my kitchen ceiling will thank me for it too. That, and B.O.B. Bob, who won’t have to be woken up again by screaming obscenities coming through the floor way too early on a Saturday morning. Let me just say this one more time to all of y’all out there who will listen, there is no such thing as instant cooking.
Ingredients:
- Water
- 1 Cup Dried Navy Beans
- 1 1/2 Cups Milk
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 4 Slices Thick-Cut Bacon, Finely Chopped
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped
- 3/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Fill a large bowl with water and then add the dried beans to it. Allow the beans to soak overnight.
- Drain and rinse the beans and then add them to a Crock-Pot Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot along with the 1 1/ 2 cups milk and water for 25 minutes.
- Place the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often until the bacon is light brown and crispy.
- Add the onion to the bacon and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until translucent.
- Stir the beans and their cooking liquid into the bacon and onion mixture.
- Add the pepper and salt, stir to combine, and then allow to come to a boil.
- When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and then continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the chopped parsley and then stir to combine.
Suggestions:
- Always soak beans overnight in water to help soften them and make them more digestible.
- Make sure the lid on your pressure cooker is firmly shut to avoid any kitchen disasters. Also, make sure to safely depressurize the pressure cooker before continuing to cook the beans on the stovetop with the bacon and onion mixture.
- If you don’t have a pressure cooker, bring the beans and cooking liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook the beans until they are tender. This will take at least an hour or more. You may need to add a little bit of extra milk or water to make the beans creamier due to evaporation.
Improvements:
- Add a few teaspoons of hot sauce for added spice and flavor.
- Replace the bacon in this recipe with loose sausage, country ham, or salt pork.
- Add a finely chopped carrot or two when cooking the onion for this recipe.
- Double this recipe. These beans are phenomenal, so if you’re going to spend the time to make them, why not make some to store away in the freezer for future meals?
- If you’re considering buying a new small kitchen appliance, try using Wikibuy to find the best price available. I truly was surprised at how great their site was and realized that I could often get a much better deal by using their site to research online stores for the best price.
Ingredients:
- Water
- 1 Cup Dried Navy Beans
- 1 1/2 Cups Milk
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 4 Slices Thick-Cut Bacon, Finely Chopped
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped
- 3/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Fill a large bowl with water and then add the dried beans to it. Allow the beans to soak overnight.
- Drain and rinse the beans and then add them to a Crock-Pot Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot along with the 1 1/ 2 cups milk and water for 25 minutes.
- Place the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often until the bacon is light brown and crispy.
- Add the onion to the bacon and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until translucent.
- Stir the beans and their cooking liquid into the bacon and onion mixture.
- Add the pepper and salt, stir to combine, and then allow to come to a boil.
- When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and then continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the chopped parsley and then stir to combine.
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