You’re meatless Monday just got extra delicious with this amazing pinto beans stew.

This beans stew as frugal as it gets when you’re on a budget or you don’t have the time to run to the store and you have to use what you have on hands… It is so easy to make this hearty, healthy and delicious one pot meal…

To be honest with you when I started to cook this dish I was not thinking about making a stew, I was planning on making refried beans to serve as a side dish with an adobo chicken tacos that I was planning on cooking for our taco Tuesday dinner… But my husband decided to take us out to dinner to try this new restaurant he discovered near our house that serves Mexican food cooked with vegetable oil instead of lard.

So I thought to myself well You already have the beans boiling so may as well make something with them for tomorrow’s dinner.. I checked my fridge and started pulling veggies out of my vegetable drawer that I needed to use before they expired…I had some peeled carrots, medium size eggplant, few stalks of celery and a large size zucchini, washed and diced the vegetables and this delicious stew came to the life…

1 lb. bag dry pinto beans, cleaned and washed

8-12 cups water or vegetable broth (depending on the size of the pot your using)

1 1/2 tbsp. onion powder

2 tbsp. dry chopped onions

2 tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 tbsp. mild chili powder

1 tbsp. paprika

1/2 tbsp. black pepper

1/2 tbsp. ground achiote pepper (Annatto pepper)

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tbsp. sea salt

2 bay leaves

1 cup chopped carrots

1 1/2 cup chopped celery with their leaves

2 cups chopped zucchini

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 adobe pepper with sauce

zest and juice of 2 limes

3 tbsp. cilantro for garnish (optional)

In a large heavy bottom pot add water, beans and bring to boil on high heat for about 5 minutes, reduce heat to low and add bay leaves, all the spices including the adobe pepper with sauce, stir well and cover to simmer for two hours or until the beans are fully cooked.

Check on the water level every 30 minutes making sure to add hot water if needed.

Remove the cover and add the chopped vegetables, stir and cover to simmer for additonal 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft but not mushy.

Add lime zest and juice, stir to mix and serve hot.

This delicious meal could be served with a dollop of sour cream and freshly grated cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!