Three Bean Mexican Standoff by Michael Saffle

Three Bean Mexican Standoff

This is a recipe for my much drooled over lunch I have been eating this week at work. My Three Bean Mexican Standoff (AKA Mexican Sweat and Mexican Surprise) is extremely easy to make. That's going to be a theme for all my recipes FYI. You need a BFP (Big Freakin' Pan) and strong arm muscles because this gets heavy. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs. of ground chuck. (I like using bison but anything will do.)
• 1 package of taco seasoning. (I like the chipotle flavored one but I also like the low-sodium options.) 
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 small yellow onion (diced/chopped)
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of black beans (you can use pinto or another if using black refried) 
• 1 can of refried beans (black or pinto)
• 2 cans of red (or black) beans and rice
• salsa
• sliced jalapeño peppers (fresh are best but canned are OK)
• shredded taco/Mexican cheese
• a healthy amount of Tabasco Habanero sauce or your favorite fire sauce. 
• sour cream if you like that kind of thing
• a cold glass of milk (see the warning at the end)

Directions:

• brown the meat then drain and add taco powder and water. Stir until most of the water has evaporated. 
• add chopped onion,  jalapeño peppers and Tabasco sauce. Stir for a minute or so. 
• add drained and cleaned beans. Stir a lot more.
• add refried beans and stir like a sonuvabitch.
• if you have room in the pot, include the beans and rice somewhere between adding the onion and the refried beans. I don't have anything this big so I heat the beans and rice separately. 
• Dish out (this will make about 4 meals or so)
• add salsa and cheese and sour cream on top before serving. 

Warning: Have milk readily available just in case you get a little too overzealous with the hot sauce. Water makes it worse. 

Chef Michael