Mom's Refried Beans

When I asked my siblings which of our mom's food they loved growing up, my sister Stephanie said, "Mom's refried beans".  So, I asked my mom how she makes her refried beans so delicious.  She used to make them from scratch by soaking the pinto beans then cooking them all day till they were soft, but now she simply buys refried beans at the store and adds a few simple ingredients.

So, if you want to make her beans the quick way here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cans of refried beans
1/2 small onion
2 TBS butter
1/2 cup cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Finely chop and sauté the onion in the butter

-Meanwhile, open refried bean cans and empty into a pot.  Heat on medium-low.

-When onions are translucent, transfer them to the refried beans.

-Mix in 1/2 cup cheese.

-Mash with a potato masher to mix and thicken the beans, cheese and onions.
-Add salt and pepper to taste.

-Let the beans simmer till they are slightly bubbling.

-Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle some cheese on top.

You can add more or less onion and cheese depending on your desired taste.

I tried cooking the onion in olive oil rather than butter, and I slightly tasted the oil in the beans and didn't like it as much. Sautéing the onion in butter definitely tastes better!

This is great as a side to any Mexican dish or you can eat this as a yummy dip!  Enjoy!