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Chipotle Beans

I have a confession to make. Shhh.....do you promise not to tell anyone? Ok then. (Sigh) Here it goes. I developed this recipe as a trick to get my husband to eat chili beans. Oh....good....finally I said it. Whew!! Well, wait, maybe I should explain.
Last week I was driving home after a really long day in the school counseling office and all I could think about was a big bowl of warm, spicy chili beans and cornbread for supper. There was one problem, though, my husband says he doesn't like chili beans. Now, I also feel I should quantify this statement. He eats chili beans for football games, on nachos, and, occasionally, as a meal. However, if you ask him if he wants some made for dinner, he will give a confused glance your way and say no. Ok. So how was this recipe a trick?
Well, although he contests that he does not like chili beans, he does love baked beans. This recipe morphed into a combination of the two. They are spicy from the chipotles, which he also likes, yet sweet from the brown sugar. Instead of using kidney beans, because there were none to be found in the pantry, all of the beans are from plain old cans of pork and beans. In reality, this recipe was originally developed as a way to continue to enjoy my Mexican Campfire Beans while on a camping trip in Cherokee, North Carolina. You will notice the fried hotdog slices on top of the beans in the picture. Why, you ask? Well, why not? These beans are great in a bowl with cornbread, as a side with barbecue, or on top of nachos for tailgating. Be warned, if you don't like spicy, I would definitely cut down on the amount of chipotles used. For me, it is some real sweet heat!


1 Pound Ground Beef
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
3.5 ounces (weight) Chipotles in Adobo, Minced
45 ounces (weight) Pork and Beans
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Mustard

1. In a large dutch oven over medium high heat, brown the ground beef. Use the back of your spoon to break the meat into small pieces while cooking. Add the onion and garlic to the meat and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Sprinkle with salt, oregano, paprika, chili powder and cumin. Stir to combine. Cook for another 2 minutes to allow the spices to infuse the meat.
3. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
4. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cover.
5. Cook for 1 hour, stirring frequently.




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