I love beans! I grew up in California where we eat beans every other day. I was raised on Mexican food, beans, rice, avocado and salsa. Beans can be as bland as they can be flavorful so I decided to put a recipe up that is foolproof and will make a perfect addition to your meal.

TIME:   55 minutes                                                                                                                                        

Ingredients:

2 Cups of pinto beans

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 medium cloves of garlic

Water

YIELDS: 4 cups

Soak your beans overnight to help make them soft and to cut cooking time in half. This will also help prevent you from getting the uncomfortable side effect of gas that beans are so well known for. When you soak your beans you get rid of the phytic acid that causes these effects and allows for better absorption of nutrients, which is what we want from our food, right!

Once your beans are fully soaked you will want to rinse them well and not cook them in the soak water. This will help get rid of any of the unwanted byproducts that the beans have released overnight. Put the beans in a deep sauce pan and cover generously with water, so there is at least an inch and a half to two inches covering them.

Add the remainder of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Once the beans are boiling, reduce temperature to medium low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Allow beans to cook for 50 minutes and test for softness before removing from heat. If beans are old they will take longer to cook.

Enjoy in a tortilla, with rice, on nachos or by themselves! Throw on some guacamole, some salsa or some Mexican Crema! These are perfect pinto beans!