Healthy Vegan Bean Dip

This is actually considered a refried bean recipe, though it never gets fried to begin with.  I believe I ran across this recipe yesterday while looking through the site tastespotting.  While I have yet to make nearly any recipes of my own, I still feel as though I should repost ones that I have tried.  This one comes from the site Little House of Veggies.  Funny play on words right?  The interesting thing about this recipe is that it uses a crock pot to slow cook everything, a fact I realize is not uncommon.  I was in a hurry to get to work, so I decided to throw everything in and give it a shot.  It turned out pretty good.  Maybe a bit too spicy, which I kind of liked.  I will definitely make this next time there is a get together of some kind as a bean dip, or use as the base in a vegan burrito.  Read on for the full recipe. [...]



Ingredients:
2 cups dried pinto beans
5 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on either low (10 hours), or high (6 hours) until the beans are tender enough to mash with a potato masher.  Remove bay leaves, mash, and salt and pepper if needed. Serve with chips at a gathering, or in a burrito or tostada.  Enjoy!

One last side note.  I've been working on my vegan meatball recipe over the last few weeks, and have posted attempts twice on here.  It shouldn't be much longer before I hopefully have a great recipe to share!