Recipes

Frijoles charros, which means Cowboy beans, are a typical Mexican bean dish usually made with ham hocks, bacon, and chroizo and infused with chiles, onions, and garlic to create a deep, rich, delicious flavor.  They are a dish that my boyfriend constantly searches  for on menus all over town, and that until this batch, I couldn’t quite get right.  However, I finally developed a recipe that is both lightened up for me and reminds him of the beans he used  to eat in Mexico City. To lighten it up, I only used bacon and infused a lot of additional flavors with garlic, jalapenos, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices.   These beans are stew like and are delicious as a side dish or served over brown rice for a yummy rice and beans.  I like to serve mine with some fresh chopped cilantro on top.

Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Frijoles Charros or Mexican Cowboy Beans
Points: 3 weight watchers pointsplus
Servings: 12
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Nutritional Info:104.5 calories, 1.6 g of fat, 15.1 g of carbohydrates, 5.5 g of fiber 5.8 g of protein

Ingredients
1 lb pinto beans, rinsed and sorted
1 diced onion
2 diced and seeded jalapenos
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 chopped roma tomatoes
6 pieces reduced fat bacon
1 diced green pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1-2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
about 6 cups of boiling chicken or vegetable broth (enough to cover the beans with 2 inches of water)
1/4 cup cilantro for garnish

Instructions
1. Chop the bacon slices into small pieces and saute until crispy in a small pan.

2. In your slow cooker, add the beans, onions, jalapenos, pepper, tomatoes, garlic, salt, cumin, and oregano.

3. Cover the beans with about 6 cups of boiling chicken or vegetable broth. You could also use water but I like the additional flavor of broth. Make sure the water is boiling – this essentially eliminates the need to soak the beans overnight and is a good trick when cooking beans in the crockpot.

4. Add in the crispy bacon and the bacon drippings from the pan. Stir together and cook on low for 6-8 hours until beans are soft and tender.

Tip: These beans are delicious just as is, but also make a great refried bean. Simply mash together and reheat in a pan for a quick and simple refried bean that is full of flavor.