Refried Beans

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS
4 cups dried pinto or cranberry beans
12 cups water
4 teaspoons salt (more or less to your liking)
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Sort and wash beans.
2. Put beans in a covered crockpot with the 12 cups water and cook on high overnight – up to 10 hours. (I cook them all night and season them in the morning. They are ready to eat for lunch then.)
3. The beans will be really soupy at this stage.Take a potato masher or something similar and mash about half of them.
4. Add the seasonings and replace the lid, but put it on so that steam can escape and continue to cook on high for 2-3 hours.
5. At this point you have wonderful, lightly seasoned, fat-free refried beans to use on haystacks, in burritos, tacos, Mexican pizza, etc.
6. They also freeze very well.