Un-Refried Beans

This recipe is from my friend, Mandy.  I've made it so many times now and decided it was time to put it on here to make hunting down the recipe a little easier.  I love these beans!  I could eat them every day.  And I confess, I've never actually mashed them.  We usually just have a cup of them or put them in tortillas for burritos or tacos.  (That's why I'm putting them in the "soup" category as well.)  The flavor is so good and I love the juices.  I haven't ever made them with the jalapeño.  The first time I made them I had everything but the jalapeño but I did have chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (they come in a can) so I substituted with those.  They add a really good smokey flavor.  I always seem to have the chipotle peppers because I only use a small portion out of the can and then freeze the rest.  When I make these beans I just cut off what I need from the frozen leftovers and then finely dice.  And since I was using chipotle peppers I decided to  switch the chili powder with chipotle chili powder.  One of these days I need to make them with the jalapeño!  Sooo good!  And they smell so good cooking all day.  Super simple and super cheap.  The only bad part is we sure don't have many leftovers.  I guess I need a bigger crock pot so we can double the batch!  The last time I made them I used Cranberry Beans!  I'd never seen them before.  They look a lot like pinto beans but with red stripes and some are completely red.  They turned out great and were big and plump.  Thanks for the great recipe, Mandy!

Un-Refried Beans

1 lb. dry pinto beans, picked through and rinsed

1 medium onion, diced

1 jalapeño, diced (or chipotle peppers in adobe sauce)

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder (or chipotle chili powder)

10-15 cranks cracked black pepper (I've never put the black pepper in since the peppers spice it up a lot)

1 tsp. salt 

6 cups water

Place onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder and pepper into crockpot.  Add the sorted and rinsed beans and the water.  Stir everything well to distribute seasoning.  Cook on high for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.  After cooking, remove as much water as possible, saving it in a bowl.  Mash the beans {I used my potato masher}, adding in just enough reserved water to get the consistency you want.  Season the mashed beans with salt.  I would start with 1 tsp, taste, and add more if needed.

This recipe ends up making about six cups of refried beans, so I took the leftovers and divided them into two-cup batches in Ziploc freezer bags. Cool completely in refrigerator, then transfer to freezer.  To use the frozen beans, you can just put them in the fridge in the morning and they'll be thawed by dinner.  Or, if you're like me and can't seem to plan that far in advance, you can always put the whole ziploc bag into a bowl of warm water and they thaw in no time.