Recipe: Homemade Refried Beans

These crockpot refried beans (without the refry) are a staple in our house.  I always have some frozen and ready to be paired with brown rice and veggies for a good bland/straightforward meal after either a road trip where we've eaten nothing but junk food or after eating out a lot, or just a meal in the middle of a busy week.  I've used a combination of many different recipes and have finally found my perfect concoction.  Fortunately, the recipe is easy, delicious, and best of all: homemade.

You will need:
1 bag dry beans, rinsed (pinto, etc)
1 onion, chopped
4 whole cloves garlic
2 T butter (or olive oil)
4-6 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 T salt (I always use kosher)
1 T pepper
1-2 t cumin
1 t red pepper
8 1/2 C water
(note: the jalapenos and red pepper I use make these beans with a good kick and lots of flavor.  You could cut back on the jalapenos and take out the red pepper if you're looking for something with less spice)

Throw all ingredients together in a crockpot and set on high for 10 hours.  At the end of the 10 hours, you can take out the whole garlic cloves (if you can't find one or some have broken apart, that's okay) and discard them.  The next step is a little messy but very important so you don't get soup instead of beans!  Scoop out (I use a measuring cup) and set aside as much extra water as possible.  Be patient-the more water you leave in, the more watery the beans will be (go figure).  Save the water for a moment, and then mash up the beans using a potato masher.  After the beans are mashed and you think you need to add more water, use the stuff you just drained.  I've never had to do this because the consistency is usually just right, if not sometimes on the watery side.

Divide in containers-the beans will last up to two weeks in the fridge so freeze the amount you won't eat in two weeks.

Enjoy!  Let me know if you try this recipe and if you have any earth-shattering changes that would make it better-I love learning new things about recipes and cooking in general.

P.S. Tyler took me to Dallas yesterday to go shopping for my birthday (but mostly to find a dress for Tim and Whitney's wedding in Utah in a couple weeks) and we had a blast going to Northpark Mall in Dallas (although I never found a dress), Chipotle for lunch, shopping again at Nordstrom Rack, visiting the 1st ever Half Price Books (where I found the NEW Real Simple cookbook, hardcover, at...yep...HALF PRICE!) driving through where JFK was shot, seeing our friends Amy and Adam and their handsome baby Roman in the Ft. Worth children's hospital, Pappasito's for supper, and a final stop at Trader Joe's before heading back home.  It was a fun birthday trip, even if I didn't find what I was looking for.  On my actual birthday, I'm looking forward to going out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel with Ty (who works late that night) and having a little Happy Hour with some girlfriends!