Cooking beans

I love beans, but I have never been successful with cooking them.  I would like to cook up a big pot on Sunday to eat for the rest of the week.  Any suggestions on how to cook them and how to flavor them.  I can never get mine soft enough.  

I soak them overnight the night before I cook them, then drain and rinse them, then cook for at least an hour.

Thanks.  maybe I am not soaking them long enough.They are supposed to be simple.  I don't know why I have had such a hard time with them.

The longer you cook them the better. I also add a touch of vegetable oil or olive oil. It helps them become more soft when they cook.

Black Beans are good with some lime and salt in the water when you cook them.  Also after soaking cook them slowly!  We will cook beans on low all day long especially on a lazy cold day.  I am a big proponent of cooking big then measuring and freezing. I do that with all kinds of stuff including chili, beans, chipotle with no rice, You name it!

My husband and I love the 15 bean soup. It's a 1 lb bag of dried beans located at the grocery store with the other bagged dried beans.

I too, soak over night, then rinse well in the morning.

I use low sodium chicken or beef broth for the extra flavor and protein. Chopped onion, pepper, and garlic. I also add lean ham, cut into bite size pieces. (my husband likes finely chopped raw onion on top when i serve it)

We eat this at least twice a month. I usually cook a large pot and freeze half.

ETA: I cook this in the crock pot. High until it starts to boil, then low for about 4 hours. But it could probably be done on the stovetop.  Soaking the beans overnight will shorten the cook time.

I follow the directions on the bag. I like to soak em over night. My wife just boils the heck out of them so to speak.

I love beans. They never get stuck.

Black beans. Black bean soup with ham. Split pea and ham. Back eye peas and hog jowl. Cuban garbonzo (chick peas). Kidney beans (chili)

Time for some lunch.

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I usually boil great northern beans in chicken stock instead of adding salt.I also add a ham hock or ham shank to the pot.I usually don't soak them overnight,I just simmer them for a few hours and they taste good.

I cook them in a pressure cooker with low fat, low sodium chicken broth and chopped onions and garlic. Easy and delicious!

I also use a pressure cooker which is great because they cook really really fast.  But another option is to soak overnight and then put in the crock pot in the morning, cover with a few inches of water and cook all day on low.  Many cookbooks tell you to not add salt or onions while cooking as it will keep them from cooking and getting soft.  I have found that to be true, except in the pressure cooker for some reason.  If I want seasoned beans for dinner sometimes I will speed soak them (pour boiling water over them and let them sit for one hour), put them in the crock pot overnight on low.  In the am I will drain most of the water out (the beans should be mostly cooked at this point), then I add sauteed onions, spices (garlic, salt, cumin is great with black beans) and then cook again on low all day.  When you come home they will be great.