Banning and Beaumont - What to do if your house smells smoky from burned food - and a GREAT recipe!

7/17/2016 (Permalink)

Frijoles de la Olla are delicious! Read the recipe for a Crock-Pot beans recipe to make sure that you don't burn them!

There isn't a whole lot that beats the taste of "Frijoles de la Olla," a nice big pot of freshly cooked pinto beans. A dash of pepper, a sprinkle of cumin - simmered up in a big pot for hours, filling the air with the essence of a Mexican kitchen. Just the thought of it sends my tastebuds into overload with anticipation!

BUT... have you ever burned the beans? Burning beans can very quickly turn the smell of heavenly legumes into a hellish nightmare.

Sometimes, when boiling a pot for 3+ hours, people get distracted and forget about the bubbling stew on the stove.  Maybe someone wants to go out for a jog, maybe they get an unexpected call from friends, and the beans are FORGOTTEN!

It is very rare for a fire to break out from a pot of forgotten beans. Unfortunately,  the one thing that is unavoidable is the SMELL!

Burned beans have a tendency to permeate EVERY surface in the home.  Furniture, rugs, wood, clothing - they are all susceptible to the overpowering aroma caused by the scorched legumes.  

What should you do if you burn the beans?

1) THROW THE BEANS AWAY! - Once burned, they cannot be salvaged.  Sorry!

2) Open all windows and turn on the fan of your AC. - You want to get the smoke out of the house as soon as possible.

3) Call the experts at SERVPRO. - While there are countless DIY instructions on how to clean the smell out of a house, SERVPRO has been doing this since 1967. We have the equipment and know-how to quickly and efficiently get the smell out of your home.  Many DIY methods take weeks, and even then a residual smell can linger for a year or longer. Don't live with that stench for a year! Let us clean it up! It will be "like it never happened."

Here is a recipe for "Frijoles de la olla" that you can do in a crock-pot.  Much safer than leaving a boiling pot on the stove!

Recipe 

(from "The Other Side of the Tortilla")

CROCK-POT FRIJOLES DE LA OLLA

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

No-fuss recipe for frijoles de la olla made in a slow-cooker with pinto beans.

Ingredients

• 2 cups frijoles pintos (pinto beans)
• 2 cups chicken broth (substitute with vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
• 4 cups boiling water
• 1/2 of a white onion, sliced 1/4 inch-thick
• 1 chile guajillo
• 1/2 of a small head of garlic (about 4-6 cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (to be added in last 45 minutes of cooking)

Instructions

1. First, rinse your beans under cool water to remove any dirt or debris and get rid of any broken beans. There’s no need to soak the beans overnight!
2. Layer the onion slices along the bottom of the crock-pot. Place the beans directly over the top of the onions. Tear off the stem of the chile and tuck it into the beans. Add the chicken broth. Remove the papery skin from the garlic cloves and place in the crock-pot whole. Add the ground cumin.
3. You’ll notice the chicken broth isn’t enough to cover the beans and keep all the ingredients moist while cooking. Add 4 cups of boiling water over the top, making sure all the ingredients are under the broth and water and then put the cover on the slow-cooker.
4. Turn the heat on to high for 5-6 hours (individual slow-cookers can vary slightly in temperature). If the beans start to get dry during cooking, add 1-2 extra cups of boiling water. I only had to add about one cup in the last hour. You can substitute boiling chicken broth in place of the extra boiling water if you like. Add the salt in the last 45 minutes of cooking and stir it in gently to incorporate.
5. The beans should be soft to bite and have a nice broth when they’re finished, but shouldn’t be watery.

A few notes: if you don’t have a guajillo chile at home but you have other dried chiles, any other red chile you like and have is a fine substitute. If you have frijoles bayos instead of pintos, that’s a fine substitute as well. To prep this dish the night before, add everything to the crock-pot except the liquids and salt. The next day, add the liquid and turn on high. If you’re planning to let this cook while you’re at work all day, use a slow-cooker that has a timer that will turn the heat off or to a very low “keep warm” setting after the cooking time. You can then add the salt, reheat them for 30-60 minutes in the slow-cooker and enjoy!