Beans Two Ways

Lately, I have been taking beans and rice to work for lunch. They're filling and I don't really care what I eat for lunch, as long as it's something, so that works out great for me. I use the cheap, bagged dried beans from the grocery store, usually the Goya Pinto or Black beans. I don't pre-soak them. I make them in the slow cooker every week, and they just get more delicious the longer they last. I put half in a tupperware to eat over the week, and divide the other half between 2 plastic freezer bags. I freeze these laying flat, so they can be stacked vertically or horizontally to save room.


Here are my two favorite ways to cook beans.

Meaty Beans

2 Ham hocks or 1 ham hock and smoked turkey necks or wings
One yellow onion, halved
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
Dried beans to cover about the bottom third of the slow cooker

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover all ingredients with water until slow cooker is 3/4 full. Cook 8 hours. Season with salt, and your preferred combo of:

cayenne
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
bacon grease
cumin
turmeric

Vegetarian Mexican Beans

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried pinto beans, picked over, rinsed
6 cups water
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 tsp salt

In medium skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring continuously, 5 minutes to soften.

Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add beans, water and oregano. Cover and cook until skins are soft, insides are creamy and a few are beginning to crack open, about 4 to 6 hours on high heat, or 6 to 9 hours on low heat. When beans are almost done, stir in salt and cook at least 20 minutes.

Serve straight from the pot (de olla) as a main or side dish. Alternately, gently mash beans in slow cooker until creamy and still soupy.

Cole's Pozole

Cole says: The only thing that I really did that was different from this recipe was boil my own corn. Pozole is way better when you take the time to prepare your own corn instead of the store bought hominy. To do this take a pound of dried corn kernels if you can find them at your grocery store (or you can dry your own corn from scratch but that takes some real time) and you soak the dried corn over night in cold water in the refrigerator. On the cooking day you boil the corn for 1 hour or as long as desired adding powdered lime to the water. The corn kernels are supposed to flower but mine just expanded to really bloated corn kernels. At any rate they were soft and delicious and a fantastic addition. Caution: this recipe is very spicy, especially the first day, so subtract a few chiles from your sauce if you would like a slightly milder version. I like to add in sour cream and tortillas to dampen the heat myself but I know not everyone shares my enthusiasm from consuming fire.

* 1 large head garlic
* 12 cups water
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 4 pounds country-style pork ribs
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
* 2 ounces dried New Mexico red chiles
* 1 1/2 cups boiling-hot water
* 1/4 large white onion
* 3 teaspoons salt
* two 30-ounce cans white hominy (preferably Bush's Best)
* 8 corn tortillas
* about 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil


Accompaniments:

* diced avocado
* thinly sliced iceberg or romaine lettuce
* chopped white onion
* diced radishes
* lime wedges
* dried oregano
* dried hot red pepper flakes

Peel garlic cloves and reserve 2 for chile sauce. Slice remaining garlic. In a 7- to 8-quart heavy kettle bring water and broth just to a boil with sliced garlic and pork. Skim surface and add oregano. Gently simmer pork, uncovered, until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

While pork is simmering, wearing protective gloves, discard stems from chiles and in a bowl combine chiles with boiling-hot water. Soak chiles, turning them occasionally, 30 minutes. Cut onion into large pieces and in a blender purée with chiles and soaking liquid, reserved garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt until smooth.

Transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board and reserve broth mixture. Shred pork, using 2 forks, and discard bones. Rinse and drain hominy. Return pork to broth mixture and add chile sauce, hominy, and remaining teaspoon salt. Simmer pozole 30 minutes and, if necessary, season with salt. Pozole may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

While pozole is simmering, stack tortillas and halve. Cut halves crosswise into thin strips. In a 9- to 10-inch skillet heat 1/2 inch oil until hot but not smoking and fry tortilla strips in 3 or 4 batches, stirring occasionally, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer tortilla strips with a slotted spoon as fried to brown paper or paper towels to drain. Transfer tortilla strips to a bowl. Tortilla strips may be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

Serve pozole with tortilla strips and bowls of accompaniments.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pork-and-Hominy-Stew-with-Red-Chiles-Pozole-Rojo-101285#ixzz1B9CtLr7O

Guacamole

Marina sent me the guacamole recipe that they use at El Torito. Since she and Cole are living in Phoenix now, they eat guacamole at every meal and drink guacamole margaritas. So, since they say this recipe is great, and I guess they would know. Thanks guys, and can't wait to try it!

El Torito Guacamole

3 Avocado halves
1/2 lime
1 small chile pepper - diced
salt and pepper to taste.
1/2 cup pico de gallo (I used store bought but if you want to make it yourself its chopped onions, tomatoes, and cilantro - do not substitute salsa)
1 tbspn garlic powder

1) Scoop avocado out of skin.

2) Add chile pepper and juice of lime

3) Mash with fork (it is very important to make sure you completely crush the little diced chile peppers or someone is going to have a very hot mouth)

4) Add remaining ingredients and fold (not mash) together.