Pinto Beans Ole!

I am having to make super cheap meals these days so I went to the store and maybe made the cheapest dinner I have ever made.
Bulk is the way to go if you are pinching pennies - or in my case, pennies are all you have (this too shall pass).
At my local (overpriced store) for under $5 I got the following:

• 2 cups pinto beans
• 2 cups rice
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic
• 1 small can of mild roasted green chilies

Here is what I did with it:

Soak 2 cups of beans in 6 cups of water for 12 hours (or overnight) - strain from soaking water and set aside.

Add about 1/4 water (olive oil if you have it) to the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot and saute diced onion until soft and translucent, add 4 cloves of chopped garlic and saute for just a moment until you can smell them. Add beans and 6 cups of fresh water - do not recycle your soaking water (gassy!). If you have a Bay leaf, throw it in. Bring everything to a boil and then let simmer for 2.5 hours on the stove top. Once you notice beans are soft (around the 2 hour mark) add the chilies. Let cook a little more until everything is soft (but still holding its bean shape) about 30 minutes more.

Serve over rice or with corn bread, corn tortillas or chips.
If you have them around, cheese, sour cream, olives would be great toppings.

This meal was served at our house Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night! Cheap, fills you up and gets better tasting as the days pass.

You could probably make this in the crock pot, but I was home and didn't want to wait it out. Sometimes the crock pot doesn't cook beans all the way.