Tracy......

Hi Tracy,

I am so glad that you enjoy the menu's I use. I just plan the whole thing the week before...I shop for groceries on the 15th and on the 30th. It just makes my life easier also knowing what is going to be on the table. Lot's of times, like when I make a big pot of sauce, I have enough leftover for making 3 more different meals. I get excited about stuff like that. I am sure you have noticed that we eat a lot of chicken and meat maybe 3 times a month. Thank goodness there's a million ways to fix chicken, huh?

Oh that's too bad the beans didn't come out as they are the best we have ever tasted. Even my Mom changed her method after Nelson gave us his version.

Let's see...

1. Soak the beans overnight with the 2 quartered green peppers. Enough water to cover beans.

2. Next day, put the pot over a med-low heat and start cooking them. Meanwhile do the "Sofrito", in a skillet, saute the onions, peppers, garlic in the oil. When that is done, pour it into the bean pot.

NOTE: Have you ever made that package of 15 Bean Soup that is in the grocer's. You have to cook those beans almost all day long at a low temp. so that they don't scorch in the bottom. Well, it's the same concept here since you don't have a pressure cooker.

Cook the beans all day long at a temp. like med. low, you want them to cook covered so that the steam also helps in the cooking process.

If you want to eliminate all this fuss, and you want to use canned beans, my recommendation would be to use KIRBY BLACK BEANS. These are cuban black beans that taste like Mom makes, good old-fashioned black beans with that cuban touch of all the right ingredients.

But Tracy, if you can invest in a pressure cooker, your life will be much easier, 'cause it cuts time in half for soups, stews, beans, etc. I love mine...I used to be afraid of it but not anymore. That cooking pot has become my best friend.

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

Happy Cooking, Gina