Frugal recipe of the week: slow cooker seasoned pinto beans

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I was trying to get creative with this 99 cent bag of dried pinto beans I had lying around. I’ve had bad experiences with these dried beans in the past (AKA undercooking them and trying to eat them) so I almost never use them. But… they are very cheap here. A bag costs about 99 cents but someone gave me these for free to use up. I found a slow cooker/crock pot recipe for pinto beans so I could throw them in and ignore them for the day, and they turned out really delicious-but took ALL DAY long. It almost tasted like a bean soup. Here’s what I did: 16 oz bag of dried pinto beans, rinsed (I did not soak them, might try that next time) 6 cups water 2 tbs of veggie boullion (to taste, I like salty soup) 2 tbs chili powder 2 tbs coriander (this is me improvising…, I have lots of coriander at home) 1.5 tbs of smoked paprika Cook in a slow cooker on HIGH for 8-9 hours or until beans are tender. The spices and flavor were awesome though. And so happy finally to have had success with dried beans! Next time I think I will soak them overnight or for a while and see what that does. This recipe cost me: free. But would only cost a buck or two depending on if you had spices or boullion / broth on hand already. Most people wouldn’t eat just beans for a meal, but I did last night with a side of bread. What’s your favorite bean recipe? OR have you made any frugal dishes lately?