Butterbeans, Texas style

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy pot on medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until it starts to brown. Add the onion and cook until limp.

Add the minced garlic, cumin, bay leaves, and black pepper and cook about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, and beans. Bring to a boil for about a minute and back heat down to a simmer. Stir gently. Simmer about 1-1 ½ hours with lid half on, stirring every 15 minutes or so, so they don’t stick. (If you are using dried beans, use ½ lb. soak overnight, and cook around 4 hours). Cook until the consistency you prefer, then add the chopped jalapenos and serve. If you do weight watchers, you can get six half-cup servings and it is one point.

NOTE: My daughter found this recipe online and told me about it. Both of us used butterbeans when doing it, but I intend to do it New Years with black-eyed peas. It is wonderful! My daughter used fresh tomatoes when she made it; I used fire roasted diced tomatoes. I also cooked it to a thick consistency and served it that way. I used canned butter beans and not dried ones. When I drained and rinsed the beans, I put them on my scale and both cans weighted 18.9 oz. It would be wonderful with BBQ, greens, and cornbread! J