In a continuing effort to save money and eat healthy, I decided to attempt making refried beans from scratch. (All right- I’ll admit I also forgot to get them at the grocery store and we were out!)

So I dug in the pantry for the bucket of pinto beans that has been there since we moved (what was that- 10 years ago?!)

I sorted through the beans and picked out about 8 cups.  I washed them and soaked them over night.

The next morning I rinsed them, covered them with water and let them simmer all morning just as my More With Less Cookbook said to do.

They took forever to cook! I had planned to serve them at lunch, so by 11:30 I was getting a little worried. But I decided they were soft enough and drained them.

Now to make them “refried beans”. I just heated my electric skillet, greased it with some bacon grease and threw in a few spoonfuls of beans. Then I starting mashing. I sprinkled them with some salt, then decided to be daring and added some garlic. Voila! Refried beans!

I wish I could say they were an unqualified success, but they received a mixed review.

My husband and I loved them! My two daughters said they were fabulous, but all three sons declined to comment because they know “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!”

I froze the beans we didn’t eat and some of us have been enjoying them ever since. (The boys have endured.)

Next time I will cook the beans a little longer, leave out the “extras” and smoosh them a little more to more closely mimic the canned variety in an attempt to trick my boys into liking them!

Stay tuned.