Tex Mex Pot O' Beans

It's official.  My new crock pot is the catalyst for this lazy girl dinner.  It was one of those days when I was feeling very uninspired by the food selections around me.  I wandered into the pantry and started grabbing cans of beans.  Kidney, garbanzo, black beans...what else?  This is how I cook.  Sometimes it comes out fantastic, and other times completely forgettable and not worthy of this blog.  Yes, it happens!

This one was worth it and so easy and filling for a family of 6.  Lots of leftovers for us, but it was even better the next day.  Get out your crock pot and start grabbing.


Tex Mex Pot O' Beans

1 package (1.5 lb.) chicken wings

1 can black beans (15 oz.)

1 can garbanzo beans (15 oz.)

1 can kidney beans (8.75 oz.)

1 can whole kernel corn (15 oz.)

1/2 onions, chopped

1 Tbsp barbecue sauce

1/4 cup thick hot salsa

2 cups chopped kale

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

Dump the wings (rinse first) into the crock pot.  Drain and rinse all the beans and corn and throw on top of chicken.  Follow with the onions, barbecue sauce, salsa, kale, broth and water.  Stir to mix, cover and cook on high for at least 4 hours.  Then turn down to low for the remaining time.  I started cooking on high around 12 noon, until about 4:00 pm.  Turned it down to low and it simmered for another hour or so.  By then the meat from the wings was falling off.  Good stuff!

Texan Style Pulled Pork Tacos

Even though the weather has gotten warmer, don't put away that crock pot yet!  I usually pack it away into the deep dark corner of my pantry only to emerge again when the weather warrants some good crock pot stew or pot of beans. 

This recipe would also work well with beef or chicken or possibly turkey.  I'll make it again with different spices and guaranteed it will come out perfect every time.  The magic of crock pots!

This Texas style pulled pork was great into tacos.  I could also envision it for pulled pork mini sliders! 

Ingredients: (for 4 servings)

1/2 tsp oil

1 (2 lb) small pork shoulder roast

1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/8 cup light brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

Assembling this is a cinch!  Just pour the oil into the crock pot, add pork, then the remaining ingredients, stir and cook on high for about 5 - 6 hours.  Remove the pork and shred the meat using two forks.  Return to the crock pot to absorb the juices for a bit and serve either with tacos, enchilada or as mini pulled pork sliders.  So easy!   You can easily double this recipe for approx. 8 servings.