Southern food. It is something that has been a part of my whole life. I was born, raised, and I still live in the South. While I truly enjoy many cuisines, there will always be a special place in my heart (or rather stomach) for Southern food. One of my favorites is pinto beans. There is nothing fancy about it. A big bowl of beans with a side of cornbread can be a meal in itself.
Pinto beans are a great use for a ham bone. I had one in my freezer since Easter. The weather has been so hot I was not in the mood to make soup. I do have the occasional craving for soup in summer but it is usually a lighter soup or minestrone. If you do not have a ham bone then you can use ham hocks. The hocks are fairly inexpensive so it would be both hearty and budget-friendly dish.
The recipe is very simple. Only a few ingredients. It does take some prep the night before to soak the dried beans overnight. I cook them in a dutch oven or large soup pot. I have not tried making pintos in a crock pot – yet. I am sure they would turn out the same as long as they are not cooked too long and turn to mush. I cooked the beans for three hours and they were the right tenderness.
I recently received a couple more awards. Thanks to Kathia at Basic and Delicious for the Versatile Blogger Award. There are rules for the award and I have completed them in a previous post. See “Connections, Inspiration, and Awards” for all the details.
The second award is a new one. Thanks to C.J. at Food Stories for the Illuminating Blogger Award. The rules include me sharing one thing about myself and nominating five blogs for the award. Now what about myself to share? Something food related I suppose. Here goes: I do not like the texture of mushrooms. I love the flavor though. I will cook with mushrooms and then pick them out of my serving.
I nominate these blogs for the Illuminating Blogger Award:
- The German Foodie – Because German cuisine is near and dear to me. Sofie’s posts have beautiful photography and would make anyone crave some good German food.
- Juanita’s Cocina – Jen’s posts are lively, fun, and full of wonderful recipes. The occasional photo of her cat watching TV makes me smile every time.
- Family Foodie – Isabel’s Sunday Supper mission is bringing people together with meals around the family table. Her Portuguese recipes are quite mouth-watering too.
- Chocolate Moosey – Carla’s love of sweets and baking shines through. Her posts are written from the heart. She has won a few contests too.
- The Lovely Pantry – Lyn is sharing her love of Jamaican cuisine with the world. The non-Jamaican recipes are quite fantastic too. She also has incredible photography in her posts.
Thanks again to Kathia and C.J. for the awards! It is an honor and very much appreciated. The support and recognition by the food blogging community warms my heart and soul. XOXO
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Pinto Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- 1 ham bone or 4 ham hocks
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Additional pepper and/or salt to taste if needed
Instructions
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In a large pot (6 to 8 quart), add the beans and 6 to 8 cups of water. Let the beans soak overnight. Drain the water and pick out any bad beans or small rock bits (happens sometimes). Place the ham bone (or ham hocks), beans, 6 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring it to a slow boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover loosely, and simmer for 3 hours. Gently stir occasionally. Add more water if needed during the cooking process.
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Pull out the ham and remove any bits of ham from the bone and return the bits to the pot. Stir the ham bits into the beans. Discard ham bone(s). Season with salt or more pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
Southern-style pinto beans made with a simple recipe using dried beans and a ham bone.
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Jen @ Juanita's Cocina says
These beans look ahhhhh-mazing! I just made a HUGE pot myself on Friday! Great minds think alike!
Aaaand, thank you SO much for the recognition. What a nice surprise!
Renee says
Thanks Jen!
CJ at Food Stories says
Great acceptance post … Congrats, Renee 🙂
Renee says
Thank you C.J.
Family Foodie says
Thank you Renee! I am honored to work so closely with you on our #SundaySupper Mission and honored to call you a friend!
Renee says
Thanks Isabel!
Sofie Dittmann @thegermanfoodie says
Thank you my friend, for still stopping over when I’ve basically dropped off the face of the earth on everybody due to all the outside work that needs to be completed. It means a lot.
Your beans look amazing and I so hope that we can cook together some time!
Renee says
I hope we can cook together some time too. It would be a absolutely fantastic and fun time.
Liz says
My hubby is the bean lover in our family and I need to treat him to a batch this summer. Your recipe looks simple and delicious 🙂 Congrats on your blog awards!!!!
Renee says
Thanks Liz!
Conni @MrsMamaHen says
I don’t like the texture of mushrooms either. I do the same thing…cook with them, but pick them out of mine, LOL
Renee says
Oh good, then I am not the only one with a mushroom texture issue. Thanks Conni!
Lyn @LovelyPantry says
Hi Renee!
I’ve never cooked pinto beans before – thanks for showing us how its done 🙂 I’m not liking the texture of mushrooms either… or onions…or garlic! But they all add such good flavour and benefits. So I cook with them and remove, or cut them up small enough so that they melt away.
Thank you for such a lovely award! I’m honoured! I appreciate you, Renee!
Renee says
Thanks Lyn! Once you make this beans you will see the difference between them and plain old canned ones. The ham makes such a difference.
Choc Chip Uru says
Congratulations my friend, you are very deserving of these awards and have a beautiful blog 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Renee says
Thank you very much!
diabeticFoodie says
Beans and cornbread – oh yeah!
Renee says
It is a wonderful combination for sure.