Jazzed up Pinto Beans
As part of our continuing fruits-and-vegetables experiment, I made some pinto beans for supper last night.
I often throw beans, meat, and tomatoes together, add spice and call it supper. Usually I serve it over cornbread or with grilled sandwiches. If it’s thick enough, we put it into taco shells or burrito wrappers. Part of the joy that I get from throwing things together haphazardly is the slight differences that occur each time. Part of it is simply leaving the cookbook on the shelf and using my own imagination and creativity.
For dinner last night, sticking to the no-meat, no-oil, no-dairy, no-grains plan, we had a crock pot full of beans and put some lettuce, avocado, and cilantro on the side. This was really delicious and probably the best thing I’ve had so far on this diet. Here’s the recipe:
Jazzed-up Pinto Beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can white hominy
1/2 c. frozen corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning mix
8 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
3 oz. Soyrizo (soy substitute for chorizo)
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
1/2 poblano pepper, chopped
Basically, there are no cooking directions other than dump everything into the crockpot and let it cook for several hours. I’ll add a few notes of explanation:
Chorizo is a Mexican spicy sausage that is very tasty. If you read the label, you may not want to eat it. This is what goes into authentic refried beans. If you’re not too sure about the Chorizo but want some meat in this soup, add a bit of browned burger or sausage. If you use any meat, it has to be browned first. The Soyrizo I used is like tofu and doesn’t need to be cooked. The package told me to quick fry it in a hot skillet, but I think this wasn’t necessary.
If you want your soup extra spicy, consider using a jalapeno or two instead of or in addition to the poblano. If you want it less spicy, use a green or red bell pepper. Or, use all three.
So the kids (who are not subject to the current diet) would have something to go with this, I fried some cheese-tortilla foldovers to go with their soup.
Enjoy!
December 6th, 2007