Recipe(tried): cooking beans

I've found the best way is to soak the beans either overnight in cool water, add enough water to cover the beans, and let it sit until morning, then pour that water out. Or cover beans with water in a pan, bring to a boil, and let sit covered for one hour. Then drain that water.

After you soak your beans, add enough water to cover your beans and cook either in the crock pot or on the stove until tender.

If you want your beans to have a southwestern type taste to them, add a jar of salsa to your cooked, soft beans. But don't add it when you first start cooking them, or the beans will stay hard! Something about the acid in the tomatoes keeps the beans from softening up properly.

I've heard if you have VERY hard unsoftened well water, adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda helps your beans cook better. But that's only if your water is very hard. Not for treated water or city water. But since people didn't used to have water softeners, maybe that's where that started.
I hope this helps!
Sandy