Hello Bloggers!!

Today is a cooking demo for you:) A while back I made some Chicken Enchiladas and separately did another video of how I make my Mexican rice! I’m not Mexican but growing up in the US, Mexican food is very popular and we loved it as a kid just as much as our Peruvian food….yes, I’m Peruvian…It’s a beautiful coastal country in South America….Isn’t she beautiful?

Now, back to the beans….I’ve cooked for over 40 years and it takes a little bit to get some things just right. My beans never were this awesome, but I have to say…..it is now!! LOL

Now you don’t have to use pork shoulder only, I used to use real pork bacon and dice it up and throw that in my beans and it comes out pretty good. You can also use Hamhocks or Pork Shanks, still very good but those have a lot of fat and not so much meat. The shoulder has some marbling of fat but it’s much less than the Hamhocks and Shanks, besides, I LOVE the meat in it, you do get intense flavor from all 4 though!

I showed you the seasonings I used on video but not the measurements (these are approximate because I always eyeball mine so make sure to taste your liquid, yes, even at the beginning), so here’s the list…

~Pork Shoulder Picnic Roast (mine was 1.78 lbs)
~3 cups of cleaned and rinsed Pinto Beans
~about 10 cups of water or more in a large soup pot (like mine)
~1 cup of diced onion, medium (however much you want)
~1/4 c. of minced garlic (however much you want)  
~Seasonings- I’ve always eyeballed my measurements so please make sure you taste the juices (just not while the pork is raw in there) throughout the cooking process and if you find it too salty at the beginning, throw some water out and add clean cold water then let it boil. 

   -1 1/2 Tbp Salt
   -1/2 tsp Pepper
   -1 tsp Garlic powder
   -1 tsp Onion powder
   -1-2 tsp of Adobo (you can find these at Mexican markets, or
    substitute for Seasoning salt 
   -1/2 to 3/4 tsp Celery salt
   -1/2 tsp Cumin

I also used about a cup of beef broth for the sauteed onions and garlic and into the pot they went. Any brand is fine, I used Swanson.

Once your beans are done, turn the heat off and let it cool for a couple of hours. I used a 3 cup size Ziploc freezer containers that I get from Walmart. I add 3 ladle scoops of just beans to all 3 then I add the juice to top them all off, then freeze. You can leave 1 out for that nights dinner!! You can place them in a small pot to warm up or microwave it. You may need to add some water because the juice will be thick.

Here are a couple of pics of my plate of baked chicken, stuffing and some pork beans…I did do the re-frying of my pork beans!!:) These are great as a side dish, for breakfast or in a burrito! Seriously, they’ll go with anything but pasta and pizza….unless you’re an adventurous eater! LOL

Please leave a comment and follow my blog for other projects, dishes and DIY posts! Have a great day people! 

Jules

The Jule Box Studios is an arts and crafts site where I share projects via video tutorials and blog posts on scrapbooking, card making, altered items using mixed media, album making, invitations for birthdays, weddings, showers, sewing and other crafts!