BEANS, MY FAMOUS BACON BEANS!
It’s the middle of the week and the last official weekend of summer is coming upon us. Definitely not excited for the summer to be ending, but there is something about fall I love. Me being a basic bitch and all, I am looking forward to sweaters, leaves and warm drinks. I know I am getting a little ahead of myself, but hello, fall!!
Ok, ok, I won’t talk too much fall as of right now because we still have some time for summer to end.
Labor Day weekend is a huge end of summer weekend and you know what that means….IT’S FIESTA TIME!!! Labor Day weekend is a great time to have all your friends over, have a few cookouts and PARTY.
On Monday I gave you my recipe for Radish Salsa. Today I will be sharing my famous bacon bean recipe with you. No taco is complete without salsa and a side of beans (and steak, but I will be sharing that with you on Friday)! You are going to LOVE this recipe.
This recipe has adapted over time. I used to make these beans with just pinto beans and bacon, but I have now evolved it to include black beans and fresh corn. Like I said, you are going to love this recipe! Justin always requests these beans when we make Mexican food. The beans are relatively healthy (I keep the bacon grease in the pan…oops) and are very filling.
I first start out by frying the bacon until slightly soft. Try not to crisp up the bacon because as soon as we add the liquid from the beans they will get soggy again. They also continue to cook and you don’t want them to end up like charred bits.
Once the bacon has fried a little bit I add minced onions and freshly minced garlic.
I don’t know about ya’ll but I will add garlic and onions to just about anything. I mean come on…GARLIC, ONIONS,what’s not to love?
Excuse me while I slap myself out of my garlic dreams and onion wishes…see what I did there?! I am a total goof…
When the bacon, onions and garlic have all had time to play together in the pan, I add 1 can of pinto beans, 1 can of black beans, a fresh ear of shucked corn and a few plump, canned, whole tomatoes and a teaspoon or so if it’s juice.
I’m salivating. I am also really hungry while I am writing this. Bad combo.
I added a whole jalapeño sliced down the middle and plopped it into the bean mixture and gave it a quick stir.
THEN. THE SEASONINGS.
I am definitely the type of person is an aggressive seasoner. I like to taste EVERYTHING. That being said, adjusts the seasonings to your liking. In the beans I add salt to taste, 3 tablespoons of cumin powder and 1 ½ tablespoons of dried oregano and a 1 ½ teaspoons of Indian chili powder. You can use any type of chili powder you like; ancho, chipotle…the list goes on.
When the seasonings have been added give it a quick stir then let the beans simmer for about 10 minutes covered. The beans should release liquid during this time. Don’t be alarmed if it looks like too much, I have a plan!
After the beans have simmered for 10 minutes I take my potato masher and begin to mash the bean mixture. This helps the beans get the refried texture. Go ahead and make sure the seasonings are to your liking before continuing to let the beans simmer for another 20 minutes stirring/mashing occasionally.
Once the beans have cooked for the 20 minutes, uncover, stir and continue to cook for 5-8 minutes longer. The beans will have a nice refried texture. If you prefer the beans to be whole and have a liquid sauce just skip over the mashing. They will be delicious no matter what though!
How do you make your beans? I am always looking for yummy variations on dishes I cook all the time.
Enjoy the rest of you week!
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 can black beans
- 1 ear of corn, shucked
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 can of whole tomatoes (2-3 tomatoes)
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1/4 cup onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp. cumin
- 1 ½ Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1 ½ tsp. chili powder
- Salt to taste
- Fry bacon in pan over medium heat until soft.
- Add onions and garlic. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
- Add pinto and black beans, corn, tomato and jalapeño. Stir to combine. Add all dry seasonings. Stir and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes.
- Open lid, using a potato masher, mash beans for 1 minute. Stir. Return lid and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes on simmer. Stir and mash occasionally.
- After 20 minutes remove lid and continue to simmer for 5-8 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Serve warm with radish salsa and Oaxaca cheese.
- Mashing the beans gives them a refried texture. If you prefer more liquid and whole beans skip this step.
- This dish can be made vegetarian by eliminating the bacon.
- Always check seasoning throughout cook time. You can always add more but you can’t take out! Start with a small amount of seasonings and work up from there.