Beans, Beans, They're Good for Your <3

Confession Number 2,327:
Here I am, a former bean hater, posting a recipe for the BEST "refried" beans I have ever had, my knowledge of which is pretty limited, given my previous absolute fear of legumes.

Do this soon with black beans in your Crock pot. You'll never buy a can of refried beans again.

Refried Beans Without the Refry (recipe from the miraculous place we know as the Google of the Internets.)

• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 3 cups dry 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, optional
• 9 cups water

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.

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.

Make yourself a margarita (or two) while you plan your next vacay to a Spanish-style locale, maybe Puerto Vallerta, maybe Barcelona. Plan your little heart out, b/c these things take eight hours to cook.
But once they're done, wow. This former gringo bean-phobe will make this recipe many times - muy bueno!