I decided on Chili Beans tonight to combat a cold night. It took me about 3 hours to prepare.
3 cups pinto beans cleaned and washed
1 lb. lean ground beef
6 cup water
1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
28 oz whole stewed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt to taste (I use 1/2 to 3/4 Tbs. It just depends on your palate)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 heaping Tbs. chili powder. Be generous.
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
First thing to do is clean the beans. Beans usually have all kinds of gravel and grit in them so it would be prudent to look through them and take out the detritus and bad beans.
After that, empty the beans into a colander and wash thoroughly.
Place beans in pressure cooker with 6 cups water and 1 Tbs. Olive Oil. Pressure on medium heat for 1 1/2 hours. If you pressure them on high the beans will scorch and you'll have to throw them out. You can't salvage scorched beans.
Time to start preparing your chili-meat mixture to blend with the beans after they are through pressure cooking. Chop your onions and mince your garlic.
Set your garlic and onions aside with a bay leaf
Measure out your spices and set them aside
I suggest you use a chili powder that doesn't have additives and other spices. You need pure chili powder. I use Bueno's Chimayo Special Reserve Chili. It's nothing but chili powder. No seeds or stems or additives. You can purchase it online if it isn't available in your area.
Heat up a pot and crumble your LEAN ground beef into the pot and brown thoroughly. The beef has to be lean (around 93 to 97 fat free). You don't want a lot of fat in this dish. After two or three minutes add the garlic, onions and bay leaf. Cook until onions are translucent and meat is completely cooked. Add chili powder and simmer for two to three minutes
Blend Tomatoes add to mixture. Cook for thirty minutes on a low to medium simmer
When beans are finished pressuring, remove lid and add chili-meat mixture with salt and pepper and cook for another 45 minutes. Once they are done serve with fresh rolls. I made mini-loaves of bread to go along with the beans.
I pulled the bread out of the oven and buttered the tops. I walked over to the opposite counter to grab the camera and....
Three were gone. No one was owning up but I saw several people sidling out of the kitchen with hands behind backs. Little shits.
Here is the finished product: