Like our Authoress, Deb Perelman, love black beans.

• They are a no-brainer side dish to pretty much any Mexican Food
• You can cook a lot and store the rest in the freezer for a quick side later
• They are SUPER versatile.  Sprinkle them in a salad, wrap them in a quesadilla, put them on a sandwich, eat them on their own, or with chips… they are happy no matter where you put them.

I can say without question that these are the best black beans I have ever made- There is more stuff in here than what I have done in the past, but they had excellent flavor and were easy enough.

Throw all your spices, onion, and beans in a slow cooker- 

Add water or broth- I used chicken broth.  (incidentally, it wasn’t labeled in my freezer and I thought for a moment it was ramen- which would have put an unfavorable twist on my beans) 

My only beef with this whole recipe was that it calls for “one dried chile” What does that mean?  I am not even a major hispanic food cook, and I have three different types of dried chiles in my pantry- ranging from tiny to some that are nearly as big as my head.  (At least a child’s head.)

I went for this little guy because it has the most heat- which is what she was going for… just a little ambiguous- thought I suppose you can’t really go too wrong.  Suggestion would be nice.

Anyways- turn on the crockpot and let them cook!  I left mine about five hours and they were perfect.

The lime pickled red onions were a very nice touch.  They did turn out fantastic.  I did not make the toast because I was serving with chips and tortilla soup- though if I had some bread laying around I can see how that would be delightful.

Will definitely use this again.