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Grasshopper's Famous Tex-Mex style of "Charro Pinto Beans".
(Once in a while I will make a fresh pot as a main course with heated flour tortillas):

Recipe.. 1 to 1.5 lbs of dried pinto beans in large boiler pan with water and with lid-fresh ham hock-can of chicken broth-fresh garlic-fresh white onions-ground black pepper-green bell pepper and/or jalapenos-small can tomato sauce-can of petite diced peeled tomatoes in tomato juice- LOW BOIL ALL until beans begin to soften..it takes a while (1.5hrs+)- then ~10 minutes before done..add fresh Cilantro, serve in a soup type bowl, and heat Flour Tortillas)

Also, it is important to "add the correct amount of water in the beginning to the boiler pan with lid"..this is something that is learned through experience of trying this recipe a couple of times: Not enough H2O in the beginning cooking stages is not good and needing to add extra H2O later in the cooking stages, makes for less spiced/tasty bean broth.

Grasshopper wrote:Grasshopper's Famous Tex-Mex style of "Charro Pinto Beans".
(Once in a while I will make a fresh pot as a main course with heated flour tortillas--> igallery/image_page.php?id=5038 ):

Recipe.. 1 to 1.5 lbs of dried pinto beans in large boiler pan with water and with lid-fresh ham hock-can of chicken broth-fresh garlic-fresh white onions-ground black pepper-green bell pepper and/or jalapenos-small can tomato sauce-can of petite diced peeled tomatoes in tomato juice- LOW BOIL ALL until beans begin to soften..it takes a while (1.5hrs+)- then ~10 minutes before done..add fresh Cilantro and heat Flour Tortillas)

I'm hungry! Can I come over?

Ahhhhh pintos. My very first lesson my mama taught me in the kitchen was how to sort the pinto beans. Being a single mom, we ate lots of charro beans...

Ahhhhhh Charo.

@chumley
Must you bring every thread down to my level?

@Alston Neal Now it's down to your level

chumley wrote:Ahhhhhh Charo.

In one hour 25 views of Charo pic, more than half as many as my almost full days' posting of my pot of Charro pinto beans pic

Alston Neal wrote:Ahhhhh pintos. My very first lesson my mama taught me in the kitchen was how to sort the pinto beans.

You do know your pinto beans I neglected to mention that you must first sort-out and toss the half beans and the rocks that sometimes end up in the bag.

@Grasshopper
That is really a good recipe for long term car camping, since if one wanted to the ham hock could be frozen. This also helps keep the cooler cool. I just learned while cooking with cilantro that I never use all that's in the bunch and then they rot quickly. So now I remove them from the stems and dry it on newspaper. It stores great and rehydrates nicely in cooking.

@Grasshopper
You'd get more clicks if your photo of the pot was on a nice rack instead of the stove. ;)

Speaking of big plump breasts. One of our favorite dutch oven camp meals is green chili chicken.

Alston Neal wrote:Speaking of big plump breasts. One of our favorite dutch oven camp meals is green chili chicken.

GROAN!

Alston Neal wrote:@Grasshopper
That is really a good recipe for long term car camping, since if one wanted to the ham hock could be frozen. This also helps keep the cooler cool. I just learned while cooking with cilantro that I never use all that's in the bunch and then they rot quickly. So now I remove them from the stems and dry it on newspaper. It stores great and rehydrates nicely in cooking.

You can chop cilantro up real fine and freeze it in a small plastic container or bag, then use as needed, and it will taste very fresh.

@Alston Neal
Looking forward to seeing that chicken recipe...

Grasshopper wrote: must first sort-out and toss the half beans and the rocks that sometimes end up in the bag.

Once while in a hurry I skipped the sorting step and just thew a bag of beans in the crock pot to let them cook. While eating them later that night my daughter found a large shard of glass in her bowl Now they ALL get checked!

Alston Neal wrote:@Grasshopper
I never use all that's in the bunch and then they rot quickly. So now I remove them from the stems and dry it on newspaper. It stores great

Used to spend a lot of time cleaning stems when I was in college.

SpiderLegs wrote:

Alston Neal wrote:@Grasshopper
I never use all that's in the bunch and then they rot quickly. So now I remove them from the stems and dry it on newspaper. It stores great

Used to spend a lot of time cleaning stems when I was in college.

...but now that you have lots of money you can afford to buy the pre-trimmed stuff...??

@SpiderLegs

Used to spend a lot of time cleaning stems when I was in college.

phew so I wasn't the only one :guilty:

It never ceases to amaze me the evolution of a thread.
One of the food prep things that use to annoy me was chopping cilantro. Most seem to stick to the board and the knife.
So now I get a bowl and small scissors pretend I'm in CO. prepping "medicine" and trim all the leaves into the bowl.
Then like small Edward Scissor Hands I mince it all up. It's faster, produces more...try it. ;)

Yep, using scissors is the only way....for cilantro.

But to get back on track, I might have to try this recipe this weekend. Will see if Fry's has any ham hocks. Any idea how well this stuff holds up in the freezer?

SpiderLegs wrote: I might have to try this recipe this weekend. Will see if Fry's has any ham hocks. Any idea how well this stuff holds up in the freezer?

I did post this recipe in hopes that others would try it and report back.. and it holds-up great in the freezer for later meals and/or camping trips, etc.. I should also note that all the tasty liquid broth from this recipe is a big part of the enjoyment, so best serve in a soup type bowl and not necessarily on a dinner plate ;)