Homemade Refried Beans
You’ll never want to buy a can of beans again after tasting these and seeing how easy and cheap they are to make.
Beans, beans, the musical fruit… the more you eat the more you toot… the more you toot the better you are… so eat some beans and toot some more.
On a more serious note (no pun intended) beans are one of my favorite comfort foods. They are easy on the budget, taste delicious, and are very good for you. This time of year they are particularly delicious because of all the fresh produce that’s available.
Ingredients: 2 cups dry pinto beans (rinsed), 2 tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 green chile or jalapeño, fresh garlic clove, salt, 2 splashes of olive oil.
Place rinsed beans in a heavy pot and cover with 1 1/2 inches of water. Add salt and 1 splash of olive oil.
Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, Put lid on pot. Rest for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and strain beans. Rinse beans thoroughly (this is what removes the toot)
Put beans in slow cooker, add vegetables coarsely chopped, 2 tsp salt and another splash of olive oil.
Cook on high and set timer for 8 hours. Be prepared for heavenly aromas.
After 8 hours your beans should look like this
To make sure your beans are done, take a couple out and smash them. If they are sill hard return them to the cooker
Ladle the excess liquid from the beans. Save the liquid.
Using an immersion blender, puree the beans, adding liquid back as needed to form your desired consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender or food processor.
Salt to taste.
Voila!
Your beans are now ready to eat. Garnish them with salsa, cheese, chopped onions, chopped peppers, cilantro…the sky’s the limit. Or ladle them onto a tortilla, add some cheese and salsa and roll them up into a burrito.
If you want to be adventurous try a little bowl of hot beans with cottage cheese in them. They look like vomit but taste delicious! It’s a perfect low fat high protein dinner. A fresh apple eaten along with the beans is a delicacy. I know it sounds crazy but it’s really good.
I hope you enjoy this simple staple recipe. Stay tuned for my fresh salsa recipe in the near future.
Barbara