I don't do as much with beans these days, since they're not Keto-friendly. But I used to make a big batch of black beans in the slow cooker, and then mash them up to make bean and cheese burritos for the freezer. DH could grab one or two and take them to work. Since there is no meat in them, it was safe to let them thaw in his locker until lunch time, and they didn't even need heating up if he was unable to get to a microwave.
Refried Beans Without the Refry
Prep Time:15 Min Cook Time:8 Hrs Ready In:8 Hrs 15 Min
Servings 15
Ingredients
- 1 onion, peeled and halved
- 3 cups dry black 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 or add some broth
Directions
- 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.
- 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.
and then there's this:
Hopping John
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
- 2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
- 2 medium onions, divided
- 3 large cloves garlic, halved
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chile peppers, juices reserved
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
- 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 green onions, sliced
Preparation:
In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.
Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.
CHILI BEANS BY THE QUART
This is good to do if you are canning something like meat and end up with less than a full canner load. They are delicious as is for a meatless meal or side dish, or you can add some chopped meat (hot dogs, ham, chicken, whatever) and reheat. (
caveat: this recipe has not been approved by the National Center for Home Food Preservation)
In each quart jar, place:
1 cup dry red kidney beans
2 slices jalapeno
1-2 garlic cloves
1 handful chopped onion
1 handful red bell pepper
½ tsp salt
1 rounded tsp paprika
A dash of liquid smoke
1 rounded tsp cumin
1 rounded tbsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne
¼ cup tomato sauce
Fill with hot water leaving 1” headspace
Stir to ensure there are no air bubbles
Process quarts for the same time as meat in your area.
We grew up eating chili with beans. My grandmother's chili is to die for! We also had Pinto Beans cooked with ham hocks. 
