This quick and easy recipe for spicy refried beans has plenty of uses and also brings a bit of a kick.
Ingredients:
1 16 oz Can Refried Beans (preferably fat and salt free)
2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (minced)
½ Cup Sweet Onions (diced)
1 Medium Jalapeno (diced)
1 Tablespoon Vegetable or Canola Oil
2 Tablespoons Cilantro (minced)
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
Juice of 1 Lime
½ cup water
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Directions:
Add the oil to a skillet and sauté the onions and jalapeno for five to ten minutes until softened (you may want to add some water midway through). Add the beans and other ingredients to the skillet and mix together. Cook for five to ten minutes until they reach the consistency desired. If you want to spice this up more, use one or two Serranoes instead of the Jalapeno and/or add some spicy Mexican hot sauce.
Note that I generally like to start with the fat free and salt free refried beans because I like to control the amount of those ingredients added. If you look at the label, a lot of beans already have a fair amount of fat and salt (and sometimes sugar) in the can. If you want to use the whole beans instead of refried, get two cans of pinto beans and then mash everything together at the end with a potato masher (and you may not need to add the half cup of water).
As an option to the vegetable oil, you can start off by frying up one to two pieces of bacon in the skillet. Once those are done, remove the cooked bacon and use the drippings as you would the oil and crumble up the bacon into the final product. This gives a more authentic flavor, but it is not quite as healthy as vegetable or canola oil.
These beans can be served on the side or in tacos or used as a bean dip. I like to use them to make tostadas (pictured above). I just spread them on tostada shells and add shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, chili peppers, and whatever fresh veggies I have available.