Refried Beans

1 onion, peeled and halved

3 c. dry pinto beans, rinsed

½ fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 tbs minced garlic

5 tsp salt

1 ¾ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/8 tsp ground cumin, optional

9 cups water

Directions:

Place the rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Put the onion (cut in two) on top as it will be removed when you're done cooking the beans. 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. 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.

If you do this recipe in a pressure cooker, just cook on high pressure for 30-35 minutes per cup of beans. So you would cook it for a total of 90-105 minutes for the 3 cups of beans in this recipe.