In addition to tacos and queso, Ella loves refried beans, so I decided to try making my own instead of doing one of my typical black bean sides...it was her birthday after all :-). I loved how the beans turned out! They were easy and healthy and had a great flavor to them. In the midst of hosting the party I forgot to get a good picture of them, so just trust me that they tasted much better than they look here! (I found the idea on All Recipes and adapted slightly)Ingredients:
* 1 onion, peeled and halved
* 3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
* 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 5 teaspoons salt
* 1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
* 9 cups water
Directions
1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water 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. (I cooked mine on low overnight and then waited until closer to serving time to drain and mash them)
2. 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.
Yum! Ella's birthday menu also looks fabulous. :) I am a pretty big fan of all things Mexican.
ReplyDeleteI love refried beans! These sound like the real deal - I was taught by an old Mexican woman and this is pretty much how she told me to make them, too :) YUM!
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