Ingredients:
1 lb. (about 2 cups) red kidney beans
1 lb. (about 2 cups) navy beans
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup lard
1 large yellow onion, diced. Do not use sweet onions!
5 cloves garlic, crushed (see this video for easy peeling)
2 Tbs homemade chili powder
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs ground cumin

Directions:
1. Carefully sort through the dry beans to check for debris.
2. Soak beans in water for 24 hrs, changing the water about half way through. The beans will expand by a factor of about 3, so use a large bowl well filled to keep the beans submerged.
3. Rinse beans well.
4. Put beans and bay leaf in large pot and cover with water by 1-2 inches.
6. Bring to a boil then down to a strong simmer. Cook for 1 – 2 hours until the beans are tender, adding water as necessary to keep beans just covered.
7. Mash beans. A potato masher works well.
8. In a second large pot melt lard and add onions, cooking on medium heat just until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
9. Add garlic and spices to onion and cook a few minutes more to allow spices to come alive.
10. Add mashed beans to onion mixture and stir will.
11. Continue cooking beans if necessary to reduce to a thick paste. If the beans are too thick add water a little at a time. Be careful though, nobody likes runny beans.

Yield 12 cups. Freezes well.

Perhaps you’d like some tacos to go with that?