Cooking beans with no stove

[iggysbirds]

I have a question for anyone who can help me. My stove has died a dismal death today and it will probably be Tuesday before I can get it fixed. My problem is today I need to make my weekly birdie salads. One layer is cooked beans. I always buy the frozen 15 bean mix and pop them in a kettle for 15-20 minutes (takes a lot less time than the dried ones LOL). Anyway I don't want to use the crock pot on them and make them too mushy as the birds won't eat them then. Does anyone know if you can boil these type of beans in the microwave (I don't think it has microwave directions on the bag so wasn't sure on the frozen ones) or if it is possible to use canned beans if they are washed very well to get rid of the preservatives etc that is in the juice around them or do they spoil a lot quicker?? Thanks and my birdies will thank you if they can have their birdie salad LOL!

[FeatherLover]

I'm sorry to hear about the death of your stove.

I found a fun bean-cooking website:
http://www.centralbean.com/cooking.html
Maybe it will be of some help.

Good luck.

[Eliza]

I was going to recommend a slow cooker (CrockPot). Maybe you could start checking the beans at, say, 6 hours to check on their texture?

Is there a neighbor, friend, co-worker, family member nearby who would let you come over and do some birdie-cooking for an hour or so?

Best of luck,

-e-

[Tiki]

I microwave my frozen veggies, no problem. Just let them cool down before you give them to the birds.

[Elizabethmom]

I always cook my frozen veggies, including beans, in the microwave. Just cover with water and stir often. I don't know how much time to tell you, I check mine every minute after the first 5, Hope this works for you. Sorry about your stove.

[The Outlaw]

Mine will not eat canned beans but you might want to try cooking them on your gas grill, if you have one.

[iggysbirds]

Thanks everyone I went ahead and microwaved them and they turned out fine, not too mushy and not to hard. I will have to remember that next time, it's actually quicker than the stovetop and you don't have to worry about them boiling over. I cooked them for 8 minutes then checked them and they were still a little too firm so I cooked them a couple more minutes and checked. I think it took 12 minutes in all.

Mine don't seem to like canned beans too well either. When I rinse them and mix them in with other foods they will eat some of them but not as well as regular cooked beans. My other problem I have had with canned beans is they seem to spoil quicker when mixed in with other things. The birdie salad we make can be refrigerated a week and used daily and does fine with cooked beans. The only time I used canned beans it didn't seem to be holding its freshness by the 3-4 day so I ended up dumping quite a bit of it, I just wasn't sure if that was normal or something different that one time.

[Willow]

I use an electric steamer to make my birds warm foods - I love the steamer as it is healthier for them than the micro - I try to avoid using that. Hope this helps!