Saturday, September 28, 2013

Slow Cooker Refried Beans


As I sit here typing this post, it's barely 8:00 at night and the kiddos are already in bed, well the little ones at least. The oldest is at a friend's house. I've got a nice drink by me, and I'm excited to keep reading this book. It's the little things I tell ya.

You know what else makes me happy? These homemade refried beans that I made in the crock pot the other day. I've had them on my to-make list forever and kept putting them off. Then after seeing them on a couple of my favorite blogs I really became anxious to try it out.


I dumped everything into the crock pot early one morning then covered with water and let the beans cook throughout the day. At first the onion smell was strong along with some of the spices, I was afraid I might have seasoned them a little too much. But as the morning went on, the smell mellowed and my house had this wonderful aroma of Mexican cuisine.


I didn't make a whole lot just because not everyone in our family likes refried beans. I did however get enough to use in our burritos for dinner that night along with two small containers for the freezer. For a one pound bag of beans that cost me around $1, that's quite a bit of beans for my money.


These were delicious in our burritos that night! My mom used to make these for us growing up, she'd even make extras for the freezer so we could heat one up in the microwave or oven for lunches. I simply mixed one pound of cooked ground beef with 1 cup of the beans and 1/2 cup of salsa. Just heat that together over the stove, add more beans or salsa if needed. Then scoop mixture onto tortilla shells, top with cheddar cheese and roll up. Heat on a skillet or even in the oven just until warmed. Pretty easy meal right there folks.

Slow Cooker Refried Beans

Ingredients:
1 pound bag dried pinto beans
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
4 cups water

Directions:
Dump beans into a large bowl, fill with water and let soak overnight. In the morning remove any beans that have floated to the top. Rinse beans and remove any ones that are broken.

Add beans to slow cooker along with onion and spices. Cover with 4 cups of water and stir to combine everything. Cover with lid and let cook on low for 8 hours. Make sure to check on beans periodically to make sure there's enough water, add a little more if needed. I never did have a problem with mine though.

After 8 hours beans should be done and will mash easily if pressed with the back of a spoon. Use a potato masher to mash beans to your desired consistency. Taste and season with additional salt if needed.  You may then use them right away or let then cool completely to freeze. Either store in freezer bags or small containers, make sure to label!

2 comments:

  1. Just wondering if you mash the beans with the cooking liquid or not. My beans don't look as good as yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't drain them at all, although I don't recall there being much for liquid. I mashed them while they were still in the crock pot. I hope that helps :)

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