Homemade Refried Beans

1/2 onion, peeled and halved
1-1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 can rotel

2 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2-3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
4-3/4 cups water

Place the onion, rinsed beans, rotel, 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 haven't had to add any water when making these beans.

Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a food processor, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency. I also save some of the beans whole to give them a little texture.

Yields: 8 servings

I got the original recipe for Refried Beans Without the Refry from allrecipes.com but have changed it up some to make it my own. I love to play with recipes instead of sticking to the original.

Enjoy!!