Dinner from Scratch

Not that this is unusual around my house - I usually cook from scratch.  But I ramped it up a notch today.

It had been awhile since I had made pinto beans... I started soaking them yesterday (3/4 of a bag of pintos , 1/4 of a bag of black beans ), and then rinsed them this morning. I had 3 cups of frozen chicken stock (my own) - so I added that to the beans, and started them on a low flame. I chopped a medium onion, and a whole red pepper, and sauteed them in a small amount of bacon grease that was left over from breakfast. 
YEP - sorry you missed bacon and waffles ;)
When the stock was melted I added the onion & pepper. Spices included a generous dash of home grown celery flakes (thanks Tom and Tracy), and the same of cilantro, cumin & fresh cracked black pepper.
I cooked the beans over high heat until they came to a boil, then turned them down to simmer - and went to take a nap for 2 hours. 
Yes - the nap was justified - I woke up from a sorrowful dream at 1:30 last night and then tossed and turned until 4 a.m.  Time to get up.

When I did get up (at 4 a.m.) I opened the package of stew meat, a Corona, cut open a lime, and chopped another onion.
In a bowl I combined the meat, 1/2 a bottle of the beer ( I had the rest with dinner), a dash of extra virgin olive oil,  juice of a whole lime, and the onion. Spices also included cumin, cilantro and pepper.
When I got up after my nap  :) ahhhhhhh...  I stirred the beans and checked the heat - nice and low.
I took the meat out of the marinade and sliced it into smaller, bite sized pieces. Back into the marinade it goes. I warm a pan so that when the meat goes in - it sizzles.  I reserve the marinade until the end. Once the meat has browned and has started to 'dry', I add a chopped heirloom tomato. This gets stirred around until the pan starts to de-glaze - then I add about 1/2 the marinade to finish the de-glazing and to create a bit of a sauce.
All ready!  I served the meat on a flour tortilla sprinkled with shredded cheese, for my husband. For me - the same, only I added lettuce on top. The beans were the perfect tenderness, served on the side with a light sprinkling of finely shredded 'Mexican' cheese as well.
The flavors were complex and delicious. The spices were blended and yet you could still taste the individual flavors. I had the other 1/2 of the Corona with a slice of lime, my husband had iced tea (a staple in our house).

have a great evening - until next time, Liz