Scott wrote: >I was given a huge bag of pinto beans. While I've used them a lot in >chili's I'm need some good hot recipes for side dishes. Pintos are great freshly cooked with an onion sliced in half, a couple of cloves of garlic chopped and a couple of teaspoons of cumin. Add salt after they're cooked. Top with jalapenos, salsa or cheese. A good hot topping for pintos: Chop 1 tomato, 1 onion and one fresh jalapeno. Toss with a dash of salt and few drops of olive oil. Cooked pintos will last a week in the fridge. After the first day they get a little starchy, so it's usually best to rinse them before adding to a recipe. Refried beans can be made by heating olive oil in a pan then adding roasted garlic, beans, salt and pepper and mashing while heating. Water will need to be added for desired consistency. Also great topped with salsa or cheese. Another way I like pintos is to carmelize chopped onions in olive oil. Add chili powder to hot oil and carmelized onions. Then add beans and roasted garlic and mash about 1/2 the beans while heating, adding water for desired consistency. Sqeeze in a little lime juice (optional). Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add jalapenos to taste and scoop with chips! Monica