Beans, beans, beans, and sardines

In December, I picked up some dried beans to prepare. My kids really enjoy beans and the canned ones get expensive in large quantities. On Monday, I set 1 pound of beans to soak in water. After 24 hours, I changed the water and let them soak for another 24 hours. I drained the beans and placed them in the crock pot, then covered them with fresh water. The crock pot was turned onto high and checked after 12 hours. The beans were not completely cooked.

The beans remained in the pot for another 6 hours. Still not done.

Yesterday, I put the beans in the roaster and added molasses, brown sugar, ham, onion, mustard, and water. I simmered the beans on the stove in the covered pan for 4 hours, adding water as needed. Still not completely cooked.

I placed the covered roaster in the oven and baked the beans for 4 hours at 350 degrees. Still not done. It is now dinner time, when I had planned to serve baked beans. We had spaghetti for the second time this week instead, much to Katie's chagrin.

Mike came home from work at 10:00pm. He bought sardines that he wanted the kids to try. Joe almost threw up. Steve and Madelyn loved them with mustard on crackers. No one else was brave enough to try one. Katie wants to use the sardines in a cat treat recipe.

The beans remained in the oven until 11:00pm. They were finally cooked. The recipe I used said to cook the beans in the crock pot for 12 hours. Another recipe said to simmer the beans on the stove for 3 hours, then bake for 45 minutes. I can't figure out what I did wrong.

Mike had a bowl of baked beans before bed and said that they tasted wonderful. The kids are having baked beans with their lunch. The frustration of making these beans has killed any desire I had for eating any. I will never make dried beans again. Maybe those canned beans are a bargain after all.