This three bean salad is not just a feast for your taste buds but also packs a nutritional punch. With the goodness of green, yellow, and kidney beans and a tangy dressing, this salad is sure to be a hit at your dinner table.
Ingredients
- 1 can green beans, wash and drain
- 1 can yellow beans, wash and drain
- 1 can kidney beans, wash and drain
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. salad oil
- 2/3 c. vinegar
- 1/3 c. water
Salad Preparation
- Mix together all of sugar, salad oil, vinegar and water until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour over beans and let stand overnight.
Calorie: 200
Total cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty level: Easy
The Three Bean Salad Saga
Ah, the infamous three bean salad. It’s like the misunderstood middle child of the salad family. It never gets the same love as Caesar or Garden Salad. But let me tell you, this salad packs a punch. And I mean that in a good way. Not like the time I tried to open a can of beans with a knife. Let’s just say there were more red spots than just kidney beans after that incident.
The Bean Gathering
The first step in our bean salad journey is to gather our bean brigade: the green beans, yellow beans, and kidney beans. They’re the unsung heroes of the salad world, often overlooked for their flashier veggie siblings. But today, they take center stage. Each one of them comes in a can, all shiny and metallic, like a trio of knights ready for battle. The real battle, however, comes with the washing and draining part. It’s a slippery slope, literally. Once I almost had a bean tsunami in my kitchen.
The Sweet and Sour Symphony
Next, we move on to our flavor blast. We’ve got sugar, salad oil, vinegar, and water. It’s like the four horsemen of the salad apocalypse. Don’t let these ingredients intimidate you though. They’re just here to party. The sugar is the sweetness to your sour, the salad oil gives it that silky texture, the vinegar brings the tang, and the water, well… it’s just there to make sure things don’t get too crazy. You mix them all together until the sugar dissolves. This can feel like forever. I swear, I’ve seen glaciers move faster than sugar dissolving.
The Great Bean Bath
Once your flavor mix is ready, it’s time to pour it over the beans. This is where the magic happens. It’s their spa day, if you will. Just imagine those little beans, soaking in a hot tub of sweet and sour goodness. Now comes the hardest part – letting it stand overnight. Patience is not my strong suit, so this is pure torture for me. I once tried to fast forward this process using my oven’s “proof” setting. The result was a warm, slightly bloated bean salad. Edible, yes. Enjoyable, not so much.
The Morning After
When you uncover your beans the next day, it’s like opening a present on Christmas morning. The anticipation, the excitement, and the hope that it’s not another pair of socks. The beans have soaked up all the flavors and are now ready to be served. The first bite is always the best. Every time I make this salad, I’m reminded why it’s worth all the hassle. That sweet and tangy crunch is just too good to pass up.
And there you have it, my friends. My hilarious, often messy, journey to making a three bean salad. Remember, cooking should always be fun, even when you’re being attacked by beans. So the next time you’re in the mood for a salad, give the three bean salad a try. It might just become your new favorite.
