Simple Pinto Beans

Beans. Should be such an easy thing to accomplish. Dry beans, flavorings, water or broth, cook till soft. Every time I see a post for beans I want to attempt them. But I don't. It's so sad to see all that time and energy in wasted beans tossed to the compost bin.

Until last week, I've ignored my desire to cook beans. Stumbling across Frijoles de la Olla I found myself unwilling to ignore the urge to make them. Besides the recipe was from one of my most favorite food sources and it's host is from my great state. I am hosting his native food does not fail me today.

Modifications Made:

The recipe consisted of six ingredients, three of which were given options. I chose quarter cup onion, one bay leaf, one tablespoon of dry cilantro, three garlic cloves, one bag pinto beans, and one tablespoon salt. Everything was added to the pot asking with water and beans were cooked until tender. Water and salt was added as needed.

Scaled for Likability: Great

Thank you to Rick Martinez for his simple pinto bean recipe. For the first time EVER pinto beans have been cooked with resulting product correct in color, texture, and taste. His toppings were so different from normal pinto bean date they had to be given a try, too. With beans cooling on the counter a quick trip to the store was worth the wait for tasty beans. Tangy radish (not pictured), creamy avocado, zesty like juice, spice from jarred jalapenos, and full flavor beans were a solid hit. Cheese was added but not needed and the second trip the bean bar it was omitted. Delish!

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese ...

Eating Waffles

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