Side Dishes: Beans -- Regular

1 lb. of pinto beans

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of salt

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

Clean and wash pinto beans thoroughly and remove all genetically inferior beans (you know the ugly ones). Then you put the beans in a large pot and you can fill it with water almost to the top (try and stay at least 1” under because of the initial boiling). Pour in the vegetable oil, salt and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to the minimum setting on the stove and leave overnight (or let cook for at least 8 hours).

For first time overnight cooks, a very important item that can make or break your pinto bean taste quality is the size of the pot used. The pot must be large enough to hold enough water so that there is no risk of all of the water evaporating before morning and burning the bottom beans, which will give off a bad smell that lingers and passes that smell into the taste of the beans. I recommend at least a gallon pot to avoid this problem.

If everything goes as planned you should wake up to the smell of freshly cooked pinto beans. Believe me, second only to the smell of freshly roasted coffee in the morning. After cooked add salt to desired taste.

Recipe from Richard Tamez