I love it when I get a fabulous recipe right off the package of the main ingredient. In this case, the recipe came off the Safeway house brand of a 1-lb bag of pinto beans. I don’t bother soaking the beans overnight. I just cook them a bit longer and they seem to come out just fine. This is a great Sunday afternoon recipe. I’ll be serving them with a taco salad tonight (made with some leftover ground beef seasoned for tacos) and they’ll probably show up as a plain side dish later. Or maybe in some soup.
Ranchero Pinto Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound pinto beans, rinsed and picked through a bit
- 4 slices bacon, cut in small 1/4″ pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3-4 large cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, cook the beans covered in water until barely soft. Timing depends on whether you soaked them or not. If you did, check after about 40 minutes. If not, check after 1.5 hours or so. Drain the beans and set aside.
- Use the same Dutch oven to cook the bacon. When it’s done, remove all but about 1 Tbs of the bacon grease (leaving the bacon in as well). Then add the onions, peppers, and garlic and stir for a minute or so, then cover and cook on low for 10 minutes.
- Add the beans back in along with the chicken broth and seasonings.
- Simmer until most of the liquid is gone. Remove the bay leaf.
The bag says 8 servings so this definitely fits in the very frugal category!
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