• Ingredients:
  • 8oz package of whole FunGuy white button mushrooms
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1 onion
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 pound dried butter beans or pinto beans, soaked over night and drained
  • 1 small-medium sized ham hock
  • 3 ½ cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 ½ cups white rice
  • 3 cups water

Want a bowl of something delicious yet simple and completely budget-friendly that requires almost no real work?  Look no further than this classic beans recipe that uses a simple flavor base of carrots and celery, a ham hock, and FunGuy mushrooms!

Hands-on time is maybe 10 minutes, and the rest of the work is left up to the stove top and the pot it’s cooked in. This recipe includes plain rice, but you could always use all that extra time to whip up some homemade bread or biscuits instead! 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Brush off any debris from the FunGuy mushrooms with a damp cloth. Wash the carrot and celery before dicing them. Cut the onion into quarters. 
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrot and celery to the pan and saute them for about 5 minutes. Add the beans, ham hock, onion, water, and salt to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
  3. Once the beans have started to boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover with a lid leaving it askew so some of the steam can escape. Allow the beans to cook about 45 minutes before adding the mushrooms, adding more water if the beans are becoming dry. Let everything cook another 45 minutes to an hour, or until the beans are tender and the liquid has become saucy. Turn off the heat. 
  4. While the beans cook make the rice. 
  5. Combine the water and rice in a pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Allow the rice to cook 15 minutes, or until it seems most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat, leaving the lid on and allow the rice to steam another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
  6. When ready to serve, spoon some rice into the bowl and ladle the beans and mushrooms into the bowl, adding a bit of the meat from the ham hock if desired. 

Note: If you would prefer to make the beans in a crockpot, saute the carrots and celery first, then add the rest of the bean and mushroom ingredients all at once into the vessel, cover, and set it to cook for 8 hours.

Have a Fun meal!