Refried Beans

My husband and I love beans. We have them as a main dish at least once a week. Refried beans are of course one of our favorites, they're wonderful with homemade tortillas. If you have a slow cooker, they're super easy to make in addition to being cheap and delicious! They freeze well too so you can make a great big batch and freeze small containers. You'll never need (or want) to buy canned refried beans again! This is my variation of Terry's Texas Pinto Beans from AllRecipes.

Refried Beans

1 lb dried pinto beans, soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed
4 C water
3 large chicken bouillon cubes (I use Knorr, each is supposed to make 2 C broth)
3 T dried minced onion
1 t garlic powder
1 t cumin
1/2 t pepper
canned minced jalapeno to taste (I add a couple tablespoons)

Combine everything in the crock of a 4 quart slow cooker. Cook until beans are quite tender. The amount of time will depend on your slow cooker, but you can count on about 8 hours on low. When beans are tender, mash thoroughly with a potato masher. They won't be perfectly smooth like canned refried beans, but that's okay! Also don't fear, the beans will thicken up a lot as they cool.

Yield: about 8-10 servings.