Chili Beans - Baba's Recipe

My mother-in-law makes the best chili beans; getting the recipe out of her was a bit of a struggle.  She is one of those old fashioned cooks who say; use a pinch of this and a handful of that.  I've reworked her recipe a bit to come up with something my husband loves just as much.  Besides, isn't that the fun of old recipes; making them your own!

Baba's Chili Beans
2 lbs. dried pinto beans

2 large white onions, chopped

1 lb. ground beef

1 tbsp. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 - 14.5 oz. can chopped tomatoes

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

The night before, place your beans in a large pot and cover with water and leave them overnight.  In the morning drain water and replace with fresh water covering the beans by 3 or 4 inches.

Put beans on to boil, then lower heat to simmer.

Heat skillet on medium, add oil and onions, saute for 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic, saute for 2 more minutes, and then add ground beef.  Drain fat.  Add salt, pepper, oregano and cumin.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the beef is browned.

To pot of beans add meat mixture, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and jalapeno, simmer for 2 hours. 

Or, what I like to do is transfer the whole pot of beans to a crock-pot and put on low for 6 hours.  The beans will be warm and ready for you and it frees up a burner.  If you don't have a crock pot, leave them in the stockpot and simmer for about two hours, stirring, till they are nice and thick.

Serves 15.

Enjoy,

Gina