Sunday, July 21, 2013

Re-fried Beans without the Refry




I will never again buy canned re-fried beans again!  Making these in a slow cooker is so easy and tastes so much better than the canned variety and it is also more economical.






Here's what you will need: a package of dried pinto beans, an onion, garlic, salt, cumin and diced jalapeno (I substituted diced green chilis)



Just throw everything together in a slow cooker and add water.  I substituted 1/2 of the water for chicken broth to add more flavor.  I also cut the amount of salt in half.  Cook on high for 8 hours. 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.  This original recipe is from Allrecipes.com

________________________________________
Makes 15 servings

Ingredients:
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
9 cups water


Directions

  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.