Beans are a staple at my house. They’re cheap, healthy, and my kids love them.
I think my favorite way to eat them is in chili. Soak small red or black beans (or ideally half a pound of each) for a few hours.
Trim 1.5 pounds stew beef, add black pepper and salt. Brown in pan. Add in onion and fresh peppers (bell, poblano, jalapeno, serrano) and cook until onions are clear.
Pour a beer in there, Modelo works great. Add the beans. Add a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Don’t bother chopping, they’ll break down. Add a jar of salsa. Add water to cover the beans. Add chili powder, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and more salt & pepper to taste.
Simmer until the beans are fully cooked, probably around a couple hours. Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread.
And before anyone says “beans don’t belong in chili,” they absolutely do.
I’m always on the lookout for more ways to cook beans. What’s your favorite?
Chili and refried. And by refried I don’t mean as a side dish but as the meal. Top it with whatever you have on hand and a a side of chips as a delivery system.
I’m always adding a teaspoon of homemade chili powder and another teaspoon or two of ground cumin to a large can of refried beans to add a lot of depth of flavor.
Refried with everything tasty added in is also one of my favorites. With chips or on tacos, both are fantastic.
My family did tacos last Christmas, where everyone brings an ingredient and we just set up a bar so that people plates their own and gets what they want. For lunch the next day I combined everything that fit into a big bowl and served with chips. It was mostly refried beans by volume, but also rice, meat, cheese, veggies, and more. It’s a delicious meal that everyone likes.