One Frugal Mess

by Katy on March 8, 2017 · 42 comments

You know what’s frugal? Cooking dry black beans in your pressure cooker. However, sometimes frugal plans go sideways.

Literally.

As in a sideways spray of liquid beans that coats your kitchen.

Fuuuu . . . . 

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }

mel March 8, 2017 at 11:57 pm

oh no… time to get out the baking soda & vinegar!! 😉

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Cathy March 9, 2017 at 12:22 am

Whoa-what a holy mess! I thought stuff like that only happened to me, thanks for sharing! Had a similar experience with hot pea soup and a high speed blender!

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Elizabeth B March 9, 2017 at 12:17 pm

Oh my gosh, that sounds scary. I hope you weren’t burned!

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Cathy March 9, 2017 at 12:24 am

Was there anything remaining to salvage?

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susan March 9, 2017 at 12:27 am

And that is why I have always been afraid to use a pressure cooker! I feel your pain! Arrrgggghhhhh!

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Patience March 9, 2017 at 2:03 am

Fun times…, NOT!

After decades of using my stovetop pressure cookers, I traded mine for an Instant pot (purchased on sale) about a year and a half ago. I’m super cheap and rarely buy new things for myself, so I had to ponder and ruminate over the idea of buying one for well over a year before I finally bit the bullet. But I’m so glad I did because it’s been one of my best purchases in many years — using it daily as I do (if not multiple times a day). It’s made cooking all our meals from scratch so much easier. What I love is being able to load it up with something like beans …..and then WALK AWAY. No babysitting the pot. I do feel as though it has saved time, but also money because I never purchase things like yogurt, canned beans, applesauce, canned pumpkin or broth anymore. Plus no more messes like this one 😉

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Bee March 9, 2017 at 4:07 am

I love my Instant Pot, too! So sorry, Katy. I have had some major kitchen catastrophes myself. They are never easy to clean up. I still have a stain on my ceiling from strawberries— a long story.

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Kathleen in Kansas March 9, 2017 at 9:08 am

Applesauce. And spaghetti sauce.

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Lindsey March 9, 2017 at 11:59 am

Chocolate on the ceiling and walls when the mixer tipped over but the beaters kept on beating…I felt like burning down the house just to get out of cleaning up the mess!

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Susie's Daughter March 9, 2017 at 7:05 pm

Our ceiling stain is orange juice. I just tell people it is tinted paint…

laura March 9, 2017 at 10:36 pm

Oh Lindsey LOL!

Patti March 9, 2017 at 5:32 am

I am sure the Instant Pot has a way to release the pressure should it build up too much. That is what happened in Katy’s pressure cooker. It was a safety mechanism that blew out. Otherwise the pot lid would explode like they used to in the old days.

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IsabelI March 9, 2017 at 2:21 am

I have an antique one I have never used! After seeing that I would say it was one of my better ideas …… Probably a frugal one too!

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Amy K. March 9, 2017 at 4:10 am

Bean Bomb!

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Marie-Josée March 9, 2017 at 4:12 am

Oh no! Thankfully the lid didn’t fly off. I’m terrified of pressure cookers.

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Karen B. March 9, 2017 at 5:09 pm

Oh I am as well! Glad you are ok Katy!

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S~ March 9, 2017 at 4:19 am

Nobody was hurt, were they?!!

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Marianne March 9, 2017 at 4:44 am

What a mess! I was so afraid of my stove top pressure cooker I sold it. Bought and Instant Pot and I am not afraid of and love it, but that could happen with the IP too.

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Tracy March 9, 2017 at 6:15 am

Hmmm — I’ve never used a pressure cooker and I must say this does not inspire me to start! I do black and other beans on stove top in regular pot but it does require planning ahead, maybe I’ll have to check out the instant pot. So sorry for the mess Katy.

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Mrs. Daisy March 9, 2017 at 6:40 am

Ah, so sorry Katy! We just started canning last year and purchased a pressure cooker. I’m a worry wart, so I let my husband handle anything that has to do with the pressure cooker! I hope it cleaned up well 🙂

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NMPatricia March 9, 2017 at 7:03 am

Yay for you for posting an oops. I know you have done this before and it just got away from you (literally??? lol) this time. I wish I was more of a master of using the pressure cooker because I think it could be a good thing. I usually cook my beans in a crock pot. Usually because I am so lazy.

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Amy K. March 9, 2017 at 7:14 am

Same. I’m sure pressure cookers are awesome when you have the knack of using them. I’ve always been leery of trying. I have two crockpots and I love them.

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Diane C March 9, 2017 at 8:34 am

Oh, so sorry! Another Instant Pot fan here, for exactly that reason, ugh.

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K D March 9, 2017 at 10:32 am

I had a little used pressure cooker that my husband persuaded me to get rid of years ago (I was always afraid of using it). Now I either cook beans in the slow cooker or just on the stove top. It’s not as fast but it works for me. I almost never manage to boil potatoes without the water boiling over. I am also known for spilling things and making big messes in the kitchen. over the years I have learned to just suck it up and laugh about it.

A little over a year ago we re-did our kitchen and I got a stove with a glass cook top. A glass olive oil bottle dropped on there does indeed crack a glass cook top. My husband was able to replace the glass but it was still very expensive.

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Jennifer March 9, 2017 at 10:42 am

Oh my! My husband once boiled over a giant stockpot of honey, good times!

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Vickey March 9, 2017 at 11:40 am

Oh bleep! I’ve seen this exact scenario in my own kitchen. Now we make hanging out with the pressure cooker an opportunity to pull up a kitchen stool and perhaps read or otherwise be ready to turn the heat off the second it needs attention.

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Vickey March 12, 2017 at 9:50 am

Seriously exact – we have the same stove!

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Michele March 9, 2017 at 12:52 pm

Reminds me of the time I had a kitchen I could barely turn around in and had the crockpot of chili on TOP of my fridge. You can guess what happened.

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Pattilou March 9, 2017 at 1:08 pm

Oh Katy, what a mess. I am afraid of pressure cookers too. I have had quite a few kitchen mess but I have to say my most annoying mess happened before the food ever got to the stove. I spilled an entire bag of uncooked Quinoa on the kitchen floor. It was everywhere!!

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Val in MN March 9, 2017 at 3:02 pm

Yikes. :/

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A. Marie March 9, 2017 at 3:32 pm

DH has never let me have a pressure cooker, for reasons like these. I’ve told the story in a past comment of why he won’t let me have a Crock Pot.

But all the same, Katy, thanks for “letting it all hang out” and allowing us to see the failures as well as the successes. None of this glitzy shiny “everything is perfect all the time” stuff on the NCA–and we love you for it.

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MommaL March 9, 2017 at 4:43 pm

Yes, I love that too Katy.

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MommaL March 9, 2017 at 4:42 pm

Oh gosh, I’m so sorry for you Katy! What a mess!
Reminds me of last week: I made popcorn in a paper bag in the microwave. I’ve done it dozens of times before. I decided to repop the unpopped kernels in the same bag, which was recycled from a store paper bag, so it was thicker. For whatever reason, it burst into flames. The whole inside of the microwave was flames.
So now I have a new microwave.

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Mrs. Picky Pincher March 9, 2017 at 4:47 pm

Noooooooo. I’m so sorry this happened, but it could have been a lot worse! Does your pressure cooker have the jiggler on it? Those scare me.

Anyhoo, sorry the beans didn’t work out! I hate when that crap happens, ugh.

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rebecca March 9, 2017 at 4:52 pm

Ugh!

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Susie's Daughter March 9, 2017 at 7:07 pm

Katy – thank you for always keeping it real. Here’s hoping that wasn’t supposed to be dinner…

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Cindy in the South March 9, 2017 at 7:29 pm

I soak beans overnight and cook in cast iron skillet on stovetop because I am afraid of stuff like this…So sorry…

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Marcia March 9, 2017 at 8:11 pm

I believe you had the burner on too high. Or the pot too full. I have used a pressure cooker like that for years without problems. I have worn out one and am on my second one now. The key rules are do not overfill (2/3 is full) and do not put on high heat—medium to start and then turn down to med low or low. I do not cook beans in mine very often, but I cook many, many other things in it. I just do beans in a regular dutch oven and then into the roaster for baked beans.

I have had steam spurt out sideways, but not food.

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CatherinefromFrance March 10, 2017 at 5:02 am

In France we generally use a secure pressure cooker whose the most ancient and famous trademark is “Seb”or “cocotte-minute”.If you follow exactly the notice whith dried beans ,lentils …you will not have problem.And you must change the “joint” every 3 or 4 year.I use mine practically every day because you can gain 2/3 of the time of cooking slowly on the stove…For the moment the electric Crokpot are not very used but it’s beginning.(I can remember that my aunt repainted her kitchen with orange soup with Seb :).I enjoy your blog so much.Sorry for my poor english.Catherine from Provence

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Roberta March 10, 2017 at 8:14 am

I love reading everyone else’s kitchen disasters. Sorry you’re dealing with clean-up, Katy. My kids still talk about one of our first attempts at making hard cider. The pressure was very high inside, and when my husband opened the top the cider left the bottle — straight up, like shaken soda. We had a fountain of sticky cider all over the ceiling and walls, and running from the dining room to the kitchen sink. I’m pretty sure we still have drops of cider in places, years later.

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Mariana March 11, 2017 at 3:32 pm

Yikes, that is my only fear with my slow cooker. Coming home and seeing THIS!

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Mary in Maryland March 12, 2017 at 12:42 pm

Ladies, get a grip. I bought a $5 pressure cooker at a thrift shop in 1972–Mirro, and new enough to have an emergency valve on the lid. I have used it 4 or 5 times a week for the past 45 years. I have had to clean up after a mess twice. It’s safer than driving. It’s safer than walking. Think how much money I’ve saved over buying canned beans. Think how much I’ve saved on utilities by being able to cook soaked beans in less than twenty minutes. Think how many pots of beans I’ve not burned by forgetting to stir during the hour and a half they need to simmer.

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