frijoles

having grown up in sunny so cal i have never known life without one of my favorite ethnic foods...mexican! i have tried throughout the years to make refried beans from scratch. but i never could find a recipe that worked, or my skills were sorely lacking, take your pick! a few weeks back i saw on my friend andrea's pinterest account a recipe for slow cooker refried beans, and i knew i had to try it!

yesterday i did just that, and let me tell you...they are amazing! such an easy recipe, so tasty, and so easy! and because i am so grateful for this new recipe in my life i am willing to share it with you. now, i don't usually share recipes on here, so to do so within one week is a bit odd, but they truly are foods i am grateful for. i hope you enjoy and become grateful for this recipe as well. (i actually did not add the jalapeno or the cumin, one because i didn't want to and the other because we were out of it...still, so delicious!)

Slow cooker refried beans

·                     1 onion, peeled and halved

·                     3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

·                     1/4-1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped 

·                     2 tablespoons minced garlic

·                     3 teaspoons salt

·                     1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

·                     1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

·                     5 cups water 

·                     4 cups chicken broth

-Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and chicken broth 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.

-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.