Borracho Beans and Carne Asada

Last night we had some of the left over borracho beans I was telling you about paired with home made flour tortillas, recipe from Homesick Texan, filled with carne asada, red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and a few dollops of sour cream. The meal was amazing. I love carne asada because it has this rustic, fresh, summery flavor to it and it can be a little chewy so it has this primal nature to it, you really have to tear at it with your teeth to get a decent bite. To some that may sound odd but to me it evokes memories of backyard bbq's in Texas on warm summer nights.

We get our carne asada from a Carniceria place in Yucca Valley. It's funny because growing up my mom occasionally got meat from the Culebra Meat Markets and I hated those places, they seemed unsanitary. Now I love visiting the carniceria, although I am still a little reluctant to eat many of the foods prepared there. Anyway, our carne asada comes pre-seasoned and smothered in onions and cilantro however my cilantro hating husband can never taste it. We just throw it on the grill and let it cook low and slow until it's got this amazing dark crust of flavor. Now they do sell a low fat version of this and you'd think I'd be jumping for joy over this but that is not the case. I choose the fatty version because it's just one of those things in life that I can't compromise on.

Now for the borracho beans. These are typically cooked with beer however I use water and tomato juice instead. I think it tastes better and it is healthier but if you like beer just substitute half the water for beer.

Borracho Beans:

2 cans pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

fresh jalapeno diced

half an onion diced

2 slices of bacon diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

a couple dashes cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbs vegetable oil

Saute onion, bacon, and jalapeno in vegetable oil until onions are translucent.

Add beans and tomatoes and season with cumin, salt, cayenne, and garlic powder. Stir in a can of water. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes and you're done.