We are making 2 side dishes this week! Yeh!!! In my neck of the woods, if you serve beans, you serve cole slaw, and if you have slaw, you have beans. Ya know, it’s like, cookies & milk, burgers & fries, iced tea & lemon. So,we are having slaw & beans!! 
Cole Slaw Recipe
1 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Sugar
Package shredded Cole Slaw
1-3 teaspoons White Vinegar
Cowboy Beans Recipe
6 cups cooked Pinto Beans(w/ reserved bean broth)
4 slices Bacon, minced
1-2 Jalapeno Peppers, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil or Lard
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
Chopped Fresh Cilantro for Garnish
Lets start with the cole slaw. This slaw is best when made early in the day; of the day you plan to serve it. You can make it the day before if you need to.
Start with 1 cup of mayo in your bowl.
Add 1/2 cup of sugar.
(ignore the 1 cup marking on the measuring cup)
Mix the sugar and mayo together.
Make sure it is well blended.
Add the vinegar one teaspoon at a time. It will probably take
all three teaspoons, but it will depend on the consistency
of your mayo. You want your sauce to be thick,
but drip off your spoon a little at a time.
Put your cole slaw in a bowl, then pour some
of the dressing onto the slaw. Pour just a little at a time.
You can always add more, but you can’t take it out
once it’s on the slaw. You don’t have to use it all.
If you have disposable gloves, I like to mix with my hands,
but if you don’t, then mix with a spoon.
Cover your bowl with saran wrap,
and place in the refrigerator until serving time.
Until you serve, check the slaw every once in a while,
by tossing.
Enjoy your slaw!
Now let’s make our Cowboy Beans:
The first thing we need to do is cook our pinto beans.
This recipe takes some time. Begin the day before.
To start, put the beans in a bowl or colander and sift
thru them with your hands, to check for
questionable beans, or pebbles. Rinse the beans.
Cover the beans with water, and let them sit overnight.
The next day, drain the beans, and fill the pot
with water to cover the beans.
Put a cover on the pot, but offset the lid, so that the
steam can escape.
Bring the beans to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
Cook until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 -2 hours.
We need to keep the juice that has been
created by the beans and the water. We will use it in the
rest of the recipe. Place your colander over a pot, and then
drain the juice into the colander, thus into the pot.
Here are your drained beans.
Here is your juice. Put your beans in a pot, and add the juice.
Slice your bacon, and then chop the slices into small pieces.
Chop your onions. Need a refresher on how to chop onion?
Remember to cut the onion in half, put the half cut side down, and then slice. Take a few slices, lay them flat and chop
into small pieces.
Chop your garlic.
Chop your jalapeno. Cut the top off.
Slice your jalapeno by cutting down the sides of the pepper.
Wash the pepper slices to get rid of the seeds.
Slice the large pieces down into stick pieces.
Then chop the sticks into small pieces.
Here are your chopped jalapeno pieces.
Heat your oil in a frying pan.
Cook your bacon and onion in the frying pan until the
onion is golden, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and peppers and cook for about 1 minute more.
Add the veggie mix to your beans.
Add the salt to taste, and add the 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.
Bring the beans to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Here are our two sides.
Don’t they go good together?
Here is this weeks meal.
The perfect Holiday Meal, or Picnic Meal,or Sunday Dinner Meal.
The list goes on and on and on.
I hope you liked everything.
Tomorrow we will have dessert!
Please join me!!