Tasty Tuesday!!

Ok. So my husband is a huge Mexican food lover. He can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  He found a recipe for Charro beans that is seriously the. bomb. diggity.  I wanted to share!!

Yo quiero Charro beans:

2 lbs pinto beans
2 small white onions
2 fresh jalapenos (optional)
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 small roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
3 ham hocks or 6 slices of bacon (we did bacon. ha!)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin
2 table spoons bacon drippings
12 ounces chicken stock
12 ounces dark beer (optional)

Soak your beans. (This very important if you want tender beans). Bring beans to boil in 8-10 cups of water. Remove from heat covered. Let the beans soak for 30-45 minutes until the beans start to swell from the water infusing into them.

Strain the beans. Bring another 8 cups of water to a boil. (The reason for this is to get all the excess dirt and debris out of the beans).

While beans are boiling, trim the ham hocks of fat; leave fat in large pieces. Cut the meat into small bite-size pieces. Put all into pot. Remove fat and bones when your beans are done.

Chop all veggies into small pieces. Combine veggies, meat, fat, and spices into large stock pot or dutch oven and simmer for at least 2 1/2 hours. Remove fat when finished. Taste, add more seasoning if needed.

Seriously soo good. We didn't even need to eat anything else with it, the beans are a meal on their own! Enjoy!