¿Como Se Frijole? How You Bean?

Beans, beans, good for your heart, you wanna cook 'em, but where do you start?  Although they've also been called the "Musical Fruit" for some reason I never cooked them from scratch hardly at all.  Easier to just buy a can.  My friend Carol Culp gave me a big bag of Pinto Beans last week.  I fixed a pot of them and they were creamy and delicious.  Thought I'd pass the recipe along, here tis...

1 lb (2 cups) dried pinto beans
1 tbs bacon grease
1 tbs butter
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Tony Chachere's
1 tsp salt
6 - 8 cups of water

Pour beans in a pot that has a lid, cover beans with warm water and soak them for at least an hour, maybe overnight.  Drain beans off and return them to the pot with 6 cups of warm water.  Cook them on MED, add your bacon grease, butter, and pepper.  Cook them for about 1½ - 2 hours or until tender, add Tony Chachere's and salt.  Remove lid and cook stirring to reduce the soup a bit.  Serve with cornbread.  In case you missed it, here's the best cornbread recipe.  Cornbread Cooking Class