Spicy Refried Beans

Spicy foods might intimidate you. Lord knows, they intimidate me. I have numerous instances seared into my memory - taking a bite of a pepper I misjudged to be mild, or ordering a dish at a Mexican restaurant that had too much heat to it.

Almost all of those times, I was out of reach of a glass of water or anything to quench the fire eradicating my taste buds. I don't always plan these things out well.

But don't let this dish intimidate you, because it demonstrates an important point - that "spicy" doesn't always have to mean "painful". It can mean "delicious". And that's what these are - De-Fricking-Licious. (DW)

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is make food that you normally buy in a jar or can at the grocery store, and, instead, make it from scratch. By making it yourself, you have control over what ingredients you put in your recipe, the quality of the ingredients you use, and the amount of sodium that goes into your food.

Refried beans are a food that we eat quite frequently using the canned form, but this recipe just might make canned refried beans a thing of the past in the Walker household. When I set out to make this recipe, I was just planning on following the recipe I got off of Real Mom's Kitchen website, but I just got a little carried away with adding ingredients we had in our refrigerator. The result was spicy and flavorful. If you don't want them spicy, just leave out the chipotle and jalepenos.

3 cups of dry pinto beans, rinsed
1 yellow onion, chopped
9 cups of water (I actually used 3 cups chicken stock, and 6 cups of water)
5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon The Art of Chipotle Gourmet Paste (optional)
1/4 cup pickled jalepeno peppers, finely chopped (optional)

Put all ingredients in a 5-quart Crock-Pot. Cook on high for 7-8 hours, until beans are tender. Drain the beans, reserving the excess water (you will use the excess water to thin out the beans after you mash them). Using a potato masher, mash the beans, adding a little bit of your reserve water at a time, until a desired consistency is reached. Serve warm. (AW)