Lightened-Up Cowboy Beans

Lightened-Up Cowboy Beans

 

Cowboy Beans is a recipe that I posted back in September of 2015.  They have been a favorite of Not Just Sunday Dinner readers for a while now, and one of my all-time favorites.  As mentioned then, I was raised on beans and cornbread.  Not one of my favorite meals when I was growing up.  In fact, there were a few meals I dreaded and beans and cornbread was one of them.  Funny how things you hated as a kid can turn out to be one of your favorite things.

I have changed up the recipe, ever so slightly, to lighten it up just a bit.  It’s still every bit as delicious as before.  This recipe makes a big pot of beans!  As noted on the recipe, I did not measure the finished product to see exactly how many cups where in the pot.  When I sat down to figure the points I just guessed at 10 servings, there may actually be more servings than 10, which could lower the points value even more.  However, using 10 servings as my guide this recipe has 3 Weight Watchers Smart Points per serving.

Lightened-Up Cowboy Beans
 
Author:
 
Ingredients
  • 6 pieces Canadian bacon
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 lg. onion, peeled and diced
  • 2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced (or jalapeno)
  • ½ lb. Mexican chorizo sausage
  • 5 (15.5-oz.) cans pinto beans, drained, rinsed, and drained again
  • 1 (10-oz.) can Rotel
  • 1 (12-oz.) bottle of light amber beer
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1½ tsp. dry oregano
  • Chicken broth, as needed
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to grill to 325°F.
  2. In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon until done. Remove from pan to a paper-towel lined dish and set aside. When cool to the touch, dice the bacon.
  3. Remove the chorizo from it's casing. Add to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned through. Remove the sausage to another paper-towel lined dish and set aside.
  4. Add the garlic, onion, and serrano chiles (or jalapeños) to the Dutch oven. Cook for a few minutes, or until the onions start to soften but watch closely so that you do not burn the garlic.
  5. Add the bacon, sausage, pinto beans, tomatoes, beer, cumin, and oregano; stir to combine. If the mixture seems a little dry, add chicken broth 1 cup at a time.
  6. Cover and place the Dutch oven on the grill or in the oven. Bake the beans for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. These beans are traditionally soupy, but if they seem too soupy, remove the lid during the last 15 minutes of cooking. If the seem dry, stir in a little chicken broth. Stir in the cilantro during the last 15 minutes of cooking and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Notes
This make a big pot of beans. I did not measure the cooked pot of beans to see how many cups it makes. However, when I figured the points I used 10 servings. Each serving = 3 Weight Watchers Smart Points.