Vegetarian mix-up beans

This weekend I’m heading down to Maryland on vacation with Matt and his family. His brother’s girlfriend and I decided that we would make dinner for the family on Saturday night: fajitas! I would bring the beans. So the other day I gathered up my resources and hit the grocery store for ingredients.

But I made a mistake.

My plan was to use vegetable broth in place of half the water when cooking the beans, but instead of buying vegetable broth mix, I picked up vegetable soup mix. I couldn’t find the little box of bouillon cubes that I always get, and the store was open for just 15 minutes more. In my frustration picked up Knorr Vegetable Recipe Classics, thinking it was what I needed and neglecting to check the packet.

I got home, unpacked my bags, and groaned. Not one to throw in the towel when it comes to a recipe, I thought I would use it anyway. I reduced the amount of spices, since the Knorr mix already included some.

I ate some for dinner Wednesday night. For science. I couldn’t bear to bring an entire dish for my boyfriend’s family that I hadn’t already experimented on myself, now could I? I don’t think it’s anything like the traditional Mexican frijoles refritos, but I must say, these beans are pretty effing tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry pinto beans
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 packet Knorr Vegetable Recipe Classics
• 8 cups water
• 1/4 cup shredded Mexican-style 4-cheese blend

Prepare

1. Empty the beans into a colander. Sort through them, removing any stones or broken bits.
2. Rinse the beans under cold water.
3. Add beans to a large pot, and cover with enough water, about an inch above the beans.
4. Cover and soak overnight, or about 8 hours.

Directions

1. Rinse soaked beans under cold water. Drain and add to crockpot.
2. Mix in tomatoes with chilies, pepper, cumin, and the vegetable soup packet. Slowly pour in the water, and stir to mix.
3. Cover and cook on low about 8-10 hours. Beans are done when they are tender but not mushy.
4. Remove the beans from the crockpot and strain them, saving the liquid and setting it aside.
5. Place the beans in a large mixing bowl and smash them with a fork or potato masher. Slowly add back some of the reserved liquid.
6. While the beans are still warm, mix in the shredded cheese while smashing the beans.
7. Add other seasonings to taste.

You’ll probably not need to add back nearly as much of the liquid! When adding back the strained liquid from the cooked beans, keep adding until you feel it’s just enough. The beans should be creamy yet smushy, not runny or too lumpy. I added back less than one cup of the bean broth, with a couple dashes of seasoned salt and a pinch more cumin.

I ate a serving just as is, but we may end up frying them on the stove-top, in a little bit of olive oil, before dinner on Saturday. There will be more on that after vacation.