Slow Cooker Refried Beans and Potty Training

Friday is here. Hallelujah! Macie decided (after MANY failed attempts before) that she wants to wear panties. Can I get another hallelujah?? Although I am unbelievably happy about dropping a diaper bill, potty training is no joke. It is kicking my tail. How many times can one person utter the words "Do you need to go pee-pee?" before you start to hating your own voice? I've lost count, but I can tell you one thing, I hate hearing my voice.

The one saving grace in all of this chaos is that I just did a slew of freezer meals this past weekend. I wasn't planning on using all of them so soon but they are coming in very handy. One of the meals that I decided to try this time around was Smothered Chile Colorado Burritos from Chef inTraining. I had gotten some stew beef on sale so it seemed like an easy addition to my freezer plan. In the recipe she mentions refried beans. I'm not a fan of canned refried beans so I was a little skittish but thankfully, she must've known.
She had a recipe for homemade Refried Beans. Of course, I changed it a little (yup, it's me. It's what I do) but honestly -- this is easy. Really Easy. Make it while potty training - easy.


HOMEMADE REFRIED BEANS

**These proportions are assuming you have a large crock pot- 5 qt**

Put about 2 inches (about 3 cups) of dry pinto beans into crock-pot. (Wash and rinse beans first)

ADD:
3 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp. salt
2 cloves garlic
1/2 medium sweet onion (Don’t chop up onion, just put half of onion on beans)

Fill the slow cooker with water, nearly to the top. Turn slow cooker to high and cook until beans are soft. Discard the garlic cloves and onion. Drain the beans, but reserve some of the liquid. Using a hand blender to mash the beans, adding liquid if needed to get to the desired consistency. 


I used some of the beans for the burritos and then froze some to use later. Macie loved them. She ate three helpings of just beans because they "were the best ever." From a three year old I feel like that is high praise. 


I'm not saying that they are the prettiest thing ever - but yeah, they are pretty dang good. I see some bean dip in my future.

And since I've shown you some not some pleasing pics, let me show you something that I love in my house. My new light in the kitchen. Allen and I wired a birdcage to make it into a light this week. I'd tell you how we did it but well, I don't want to be responsible for someone burning their house down or electrocuting themselves. With that said... don't you love it??