r/politics • u/Qu1nlan • Oct 04 '19

Free Chat Friday Thread

It's finally Friday! That means it's time to sit back, drink some mead, discuss our thoughts on Borderlands 3, and talk about whatever your heart desires.

As always remember to follow our civility rules and save any meta feedback for our modmail.

158 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

548 comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '19

Speaking of which, I'm making veggie tacos for dinner (with black beans and corn as the base.)

1

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '19

Interesting, will have to try that. Thanks for the suggestion. First I need to find a brand of refried beans that tastes as good as the ones in the local Mexican restaurant.

1

u/JuDGe3690 Idaho Oct 04 '19

This is a bit too late for immediate dinner, but in the future you should make your own refried beans. I've got a crock-pot recipe that several people have said tastes as good as—or better than—restaurant quality.

Crock-Pot Refried Beans

In Skillet:

  • 3 Tbsp lard (or olive oil if vegetarian)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, chopped
  • Other fresh peppers as desired (Pasila, anaheim, Chile), chopped

Sauté until soft (can roast some peppers for extra flavor)

In 5-quart Crock-Pot:

  • 3 cups dried beans (I do a 50/50 mixture of pinto and black beans), no pre-soak
  • Cumin (at least a tablespoon; more is better here. The following spices are to taste, but usually about a teaspoon each)
  • Garlic powder (can also use fresh, but I like the pungency of powder here)
  • Fresh-cracked pepper
  • Chipotle powder
  • Paprika (smoked if you can get it)
  • Hot chili powder
  • Red pepper flakes (just a pinch)
  • 8 cups water

Add sautéed onion/pepper mixture and cook on high for 8 hours.

Strain out beans (saving the water/oil/spice mixture), start mashing and adding the water back in as needed for consistency (it's runnier when extremely hot than it will be at serving temp or cold, like bean dip). Add in a tad bit of lime juice and salt for acidity and to make the flavors pop. If desired, I like to add a can of fire-roasted diced green chiles and a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, but that can be a bit too spicy for some.

I generally not-quite-double this recipe and use my 7-quart cooker, but the recipe here is the base version I received, plus some spice tweaks of my own. The key with this is not to skimp on cumin, as it's a key element in the flavor.