Feed Me Friday: Crockpot Refried Beans

Great refried beans are hard to come by - if you get them at a restaurant, they're either undercooked, watery, blended to a pulp, or seriously lacking seasoning. That's such a disappointment, because I really love great refried beans! And the canned stuff? Oh good grief, what a salt bomb. In typical Justin and Kiley style, we sought out to create a healthier homemade version.

Crockpot Refried Beans
Yield                       6 cups

Ingredients
1 pound dry pinto beans
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons ground cumin
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
1 tablespoon liquid from jar of jalapenos
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoons garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste (about 2-3 teaspoons)
hot pepper, chopped (optional)

salt, pinto beans, jalapeno jar juice, white vinegar, garlic, hot pepper, cumin, jalapenos, & onion

Directions
Measure out 1 pound of dried pinto beans, rinse them, and pick out any rocks or shriveled beans.

1 pound of dry pinto beans

Sidenote: this Joseph Joseph folding scale is an outstanding addition for your kitchen. We use this all the time!

Place the first 7 ingredients in a crockpot and pour enough water in to cover the ingredients by about one inch. Turn on low, and cook for 8-10 hours.

ingredients ready to go

When the beans are tender, ladle out about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid and reserve in a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Scoop out the beans into a blender with a slotted spoon, draining most of the liquid from each spoonful.

Place the beans, ½ cup reserved juice, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt,  and 1 tablespoon cumin in a blender and process. Depending on how well you drained the beans, add about 1/4 cup liquid or more if needed and process until the desired texture is reached. Add more liquid and salt if needed.

Since we never eat that many beans in just a week, I typically measure out the beans in amounts of 2 cups and put them in quart-size freezer bags and freeze flat.