Brazilian Beans

Today I'd like to share a family recipe with you.  It is my mother-in-law's Brazilian Beans.  I used to make the recipe with Brazilian rice as well, but after changing some of our eating habits we now just put it over steamed brown rice.

This recipe is a staple food eaten in Brazil, and is high in protein and flavor.  You can add whatever type of meat you prefer or have on hand.  In the past we've used pork but this time I used beef.  You can also use whatever type of (dried) beans you have lying around.  

Brazilian Beans

Ingredients

1 lb beans (pinto, black, etc)

1 Tbsp salt

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 beef sausage (I used 1/2 lb steak and 1/2 lb beef soup bones)

1 large onion - sliced into small pieces

3 large cloves of garlic (sliced or minced)

3 Tbsp olive oil

Directions

Soak beans overnight and rinse well.  In a large pan add enough water to cover beans about one inch.  Add salt and pepper  Bring to a boil.  Turn down and let simmer for 2 hours.  Meanwhile, in a small skillet, cook onion, garlic and olive oil over medium heat until onion is dark brown but not burned (takes approximately 1/2 hour).  Add onion mixture along with meat to the beans and let simmer for the remainder of the 2 hours.

Towards the end you can either mash a few beans to make it thicker, or if you prefer add a bit more water to make it more soupy (what we do).  Serve over rice.

Hint: When putting away leftovers we put the soup/liquid and the beans in separate containers otherwise the beans will soak up all the liquid.