Homemade "Refried" Beans

This recipe for refried beans doesn't involve any frying at all; only mashing cooked pinto beans.  It's so easy; all the work is done in the crockpot, and then you have a delish side dish to go with any Mexican-themed meal.  I've been making this recipe for a while; whenever I needed some refried beans to go with something.  These are also good used in other recipes, like Spoon Tacos or Burritos. 

The onion used in this recipe can get so soft that you can mash it up right with the beans, but if it doesn't get that soft (what happened to me last time), you can just discard the onion after cooking.  The good flavor will still be there.

A lot of times I'll cook these on low overnight, and throughout the next day.  Works great.  It is a little unsettling to wake up at 3am to the smell of beans cooking, but it's worth that weirdness. 

I've kind of taken a break from cooking much lately; as my husband is working hard on his Master's degree and hasn't been home very often for the last two weeks.  There have been a lot of grilled cheese or cold cereal or yogurt nights here lately.  Maybe I'll get my groove back again soon!

Homemade "Refried" Beans
from Allrecipes

1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed (approx. 1 pound)
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1-2 teaspoons salt (to taste!!)
1 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
9 cups water

1.Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.

2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.
 

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