Easy Slow-Cooker Refried Beans from 100 Days of Real Food

Along with the tortillas, I also made the slow-cooker refried beans to go with our taco night. Taco night is a favorite at our house and sometimes it is fine to try something new and different. These beans were so easy to make. It took me no time at all to get everything ready and put in the crockpot before heading off to school drop off. Then I didn't need to do anything else until it was time for supper.

The beans were easy to mash when they were done, they were smooth and creamy. These beans were a wonderful addition to our tacos. Later in the week, I had been having them for lunch with spinach, salsa, and avocado. They were not expensive to make either and the ingredients were easy to find in the store.

Timing: The book says this takes less than 15 minutes of prep time and I used 8 minutes. Then I let it sit in the slow cooker for 10 hours and they were perfect.
Servings: The recipe says it makes about 4 cups of cooked beans and this is correct.
Leftovers: The leftovers were great. They worked as a taco salad or would be good for tacos as well.

Family Ratings:
Me: I thought these beans were wonderful. They were creamy and smooth and a great addition to tacos.
Hubby: He really enjoyed these and thought the flavor was great. He felt they tasted less greasy and fatty than traditional refried beans.
Big Man: He mixes up all his taco ingredients together and calls it a "mixarella." He enjoyed the addition to his plate.
Bear: He tends to eat his meat separately from the rest of his tacos. He ate the beans with no complaint or arguing, which is a huge win!
Mr. T: He ate the beans with the rest of his tacos and had no problem at all with them. It didn't seem to phase him that there was anything different on his plate.

We will certainly be including these beans in our menus going forward. Perhaps not every time that we have tacos. In the future, I may only make a half batch because we do not have the beans themselves as the main course like this book suggests.