another weekend and a recipe.

A couple of weeks ago we made a quick weekend trip to New Mexico to visit some of my family members.  It was really fast, but we also had a really good time visiting my grandpa, petting/riding horses, and having a cookout with lots of people I haven't seen in almost ten years.  It was also super fun to spend time with my sister and watch our kids play together!  Hopefully they get to be friends as they get older.

I hardly took any pictures while we were there because we were too busy, but here are a couple.

Not interested in horses.

My mom reminded us that there was a time when Theo did not appreciate sunglasses.

He hid under his blanket because Jon kept poking him.  And then he fell asleep under the blanket.

Anyway, before we left my uncle sent us home with a giant bag of dried beans.  It was pretty timely, because I have been making a lot of "refried" beans lately.  At first it was for a burrito dinner, but I discovered that I liked it as a dip for tortilla chips even better.  So I made it again and again, and now it's time to share the recipe.


Kristin's Refried Beans

6 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2-inch stripes
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
kosher salt
2 cans pinto beans (drained) or 3 cups cooked beans

1. Cook the bacon strips in a heavy-bottomed pot or pan over medium-high heat until bacon is crispy.  Remove bacon strips, set aside.
2. Place the diced onion into the pan with the bacon fat.  Cook the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Partially deglaze the pan with the liquid that draws out from the onions.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, then add the spices and a big pinch of salt to the pan.  Mix together and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the beans and 1 to 1.5 cups water to the pot.  Add another big pinch of kosher salt.  Bring to a boil, cook the beans for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. When most of the water is gone, take the pan off the heat.  Mash the beans to desired consistency. Add the bacon back to the dip.  Add salt to taste.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Kristin's notes:
1. Okay so I totally made this recipe up, and I have no idea if I broke any rules.  I also am not 100% sure of the water measurements in step 3, I mostly just eyeball the pot and use whatever amount looks fine.  I definitely never use more than 1.5 cups, though.  (Sorry!  Comments like this always enraged me in the past when I was trying to learn how to make certain foods, and it turns out I do it too!  Just trust yourself!!)
2. You can mash the beans by hand or process them in a food processor or blender.  I do it by hand because I don't want the dip to be completely pureed, and I can control that better when I mash by hand.
3. You don't have to add the bacon back to the dip at the end (the crispiness of the bacon is lost when added to the beans), but it definitely doesn't hurt it.
4. You DO have to use bacon fat in the dish because olive oil just doesn't cut it.  Trust me, I've made it both ways and the bacon way is the best way.
5. No picture for now, hopefully I'll be able to take one that doesn't make it look gross one day and add it back here.


Enjoy!  We sure love this dip around here, and it's also nice knowing that the only thing that's bad for you in this is the bacon fat/bacon.  Can't say the same thing for the canned refried beans.  Never buying those again!!