May 2012 Recipe Group / Chicken Mole, Refried Beans & Spanish Rice

Taught by Inger D.

These are recipes I grew up eating in my home. My sisters and I, at first, were not huge fans of the mole, but now we enjoy it and make it for our own families. The chicken mole and spanish rice recipes are recipes from my mom, who in turn learned them from her mom. The refried bean recipe I also learned from my mom, but has a few tweaks of my own. My mom never measures but goes more by taste, so I had to approximate the spice measurements.

Refried Beans

2 strips of bacon

2 cans pinto beans (one can drained and one can undrained)

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Fry bacon in a saute pan. Remove bacon, crumble, and reserve for later.

Add pinto beans to bacon grease. Add spices and mash with a masher. Add bacon and reduce heat to low. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.

(Note: You can make these without bacon, but you definitely need bacon grease for the best flavor. Also, spice measurements are approximate, so add as much or as little as you like.)

Spanish Rice

2 cups long grain rice

4 cups hot water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh garlic)

1/2 med onion diced

3 tbsp. oil

Tomato sauce or consomme (opt)

Saute rice and onion in oil till rice turns golden berown. Add hot water. Mix in rest of spices and simmer, covered, for approximately 20 minutes. Periodically stir the rice and add liquid if needed. Rice is done when ends have split and water is absorbed.

Chicken Mole

4 chicken breasts bone-in with skin (you can use boneless, skinless, but will get more flavor from bone-in, with skin)

1 tbsp. salt

Water 

1/2 jar of Dona Maria Mole Sauce (can be found in Hispanic Aisle of grocery store)

Put chicken breasts in large stock pot and add enough water to cover the chicken. Add salt. Boil chicken in salt water until the meat falls off the bone. Let broth reduce during cooking. Remove chicken and reserve a couple cups of broth. Add mole sauce to broth and stir to dissolve. Debone chicken and remove skin. Dice chicken meat and return to broth. Let simmer 20 minutes.

Serve with Spanish rice, refried beans and corn tortillas.