Beans
dry pinto beans
water
salt
Sort beans and rinse them well. (I always find rocks in my beans, so don’t forget to sort.) Place in a heavy pot and cover with 3-4 inches of water. Cover and cook over low heat for 5-6 hrs. You can also use a crockpot. Just cook on low for 9 to 10 hours. Salt to taste at end of cooking when beans are soft. Yummy served whole over mexican rice.
If you’re feeling bold, try making homemade refried beans. Oh my goodness…so good!
Run your beans through a food processor (w/a good amount of the water they were cooked in.) Don’t puree completely smooth…refried beans should be a little chunky. Heat a couple Tbsp. of oil in a large fry pan. (I use bacon grease. Better flavor.) Cut one jalapeno in half and seed. Fry in oil to release flavor. Your beans will not be hot. I promise. Add your beans and cook until they reach a thickness you like. You’ll never want to go back to canned.
Mexican Rice
3 roma tomatoes, remove top and slice in half
1/4 cup onion
garlic clove, peeled
2 Tbsp. mexican chicken bouillon
water
2 cups long grain white rice
1/4 cup veggie oil
In a blender, combine tomatoes and about a cup of water. Blend. Add onion, garlic and bouillon. Blend. Add water to mixture so total liquid amount is a just over 4 cups. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large fry pan. Fry rice in oil until it turn a yellow gold color. Add tomato liquid, and bring to a boil. Turn temperature to low and cover with lid. Simmer for 30 minutes or until rice puffs.
The rice is really good with leftover chicken mixed in. Try it with veggies mixed in too. We like to eat it with the whole beans spooned on top. It’s also yummy in burritos, or on it’s own as a side to any mexican dish.
I hope these recipes make sense. I learned all these from my hispanic friend who cooks completely by feel. I should mention you can buy mexican chicken boulion at WinCo or Walmart in the latino section. Regular boulion is fine though.
