BAPper's Bean Dip^(tm)

Ingredients list:

    16-20oz  of Pintos (a 15oz can of nofat refrieds work well)
      3      cloves garlic, minced
      1      medium sized yellow onion, chopped
     2-6     chopped fresh jalepenos, depends on how spicy you like it
    1 tbs    whole cumin seed
   2-3 tbs   chile powder
    1 can    black olives
    3 tbs    cilantro, minced
    1 block  Monterey Jack cheese (maybe about 1/3 pound)
    2 tbs    olive oil (best), butter, or vegetable oil
  Pico Pica  Hot sauce


Preparation:

    Heat up a skillet or medium sauce pan on medium heat.  I prefer to
use a cast-iron skillet, they seem to distribute the heat the best and
they are non-stick when properly seasoned.  Add the olive oil when the
pan is hot.  Add the onion and jalepenos.  For this dish, I don't seed
the peppers, I like the heat of the seeds and the slight bitter flavor
when they are fried.  Fry the onions and peppers until they are brown
then add the cumin and garlic.  The key here is to fry the onions and
chiles until they are brown and going on burnt.  This gives the dip a
nice roasted flavor.  You don't want to burn the garlic and cumin,
though.  Once the garlic has been cooked, about 2-3 minutes, add the
chile powder and mix it all up in the pan.  At this point, the fumes
ought to be making you cough and sneeze, this is a good thing!  Add
the beans immediately after this is mixed, otherwise the chile powder
burns.

    Now, if you are a bean freak like me, you'll make your own
pintos, since they are practically free ($8-10 for a 25 pound bag) and
they taste better.  If this is the case, you want to mash the beans
once they have heated through.  Add a little water if it is too thick
when you mash it.  If you are the can opening bean guy, then you can
just use refried beans and you don't need to mash it.  If the beans from
the can are difficult to mix up with the ingredients in the pan
because they are too thick, just add a little water.  Once the beans
are mixed and/or mashed, turn the heat down to low and let them heat
all the way through.

    Add the olives and cilantro while you are waiting for them to heat.  I
usually buy whole olives (large or medium sized) and rip them in half
or thirds with my fingers and put them in the dip.  You could be lazy
and get the pre-sliced olives, or slice them with a knife if that is
what floats your boat.  The number of olives is up to you, I use most
of a can for this amount of dip.  The reason for turning the heat down
is so you get a low heat for melting the cheese.  You will want to
chunk up the cheese into half-inch sized cubes.  Don't make the beans
too hot, the cheese can turn yukky when you add it to things that are
too hot.  I like it just hot enough to melt it smoothly.  Don't add
all of the cheese at once, again, the amount is really a matter of
taste.  Save a few cubes to add in later, this makes it so there are
cheese pockets because you stop stirring the dip before the last few
cubes are melted.  This is sure to be a hit!  Stir the beans while
adding the first batch of cheese and let it melt and mix evenly.  Once
that is all mixed together, add the last bit of cheese.  Just fold
this cheese in and let it sit there, not stirring any more.  Lately, I
have been not putting any in because it reduces the fat calories, it
is still a tasty dip without cheese.

    Remove from the heat, sit down with a friend or two and a big bag
of chips and have at it.  Add Pico Pica if you like it to be spicier.
Pico Pica has to be the best hot sauce out there for general use, they
should sell it in gallon jugs!