Simple and easy

Sweet tea is something simple that makes my family really happy. I routinely get phone calls when people are headed home, just to check and see if there is tea made. Water, tea bags and sugar, sweet tea should have been really easy for me to figure out how to make. It took this Northern girl a long time to get it right. I didn't know that you can't just stir sugar into a pitcher of tea and expect it to work. It's about the timing. My husband's granny finally showed me the way. She uses a pot on the stove, but we do it in the microwave and use just a touch less sugar. Here's our standard family "recipe" if you want to call it that.

To make a gallon of tea, you start with 2 quarts of boiling hot water. We do this in the microwave, it takes about 3 and a half minutes. Add 8 standard tea bags (we like Lipton or Tetley) and let it steep for 20 minutes or so (you are making it double strength, so it needs to be dark). Do NOT squeeze out those tea bags or your tea will be bitter. Stir in 1 cup of sugar until dissolved. Fill a gallon sized pitcher half way full with cool water, then add the tea that you've made and stir. That's it. Perfect sweet tea.

One of my most simple and most requested recipes is for the easiest of re fried beans. Honestly, the recipe has evolved over time and we use the beans in several ways. Lately, we've been eating them right out of the pot with cornbread for a lazy dinner. They still remain the very best unfried re fried beans that we've ever had. Please don't be afraid of dry beans. This recipe doesn't require soaking and you're going to be using your crock pot.

Re fried beans
2 lbs. dry pinto beans
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
13 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Chipotle chili pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin

Rinse and sort the beans. You are looking for little bits of mud or funky shaped or oddly colored beans. Pintos can have quite a few of these, depending on where you get them. Aldi's dry pinto beans are quite lovely and very inexpensive. Once you've checked through your beans, add them along with the onion, garlic, bay leaves and water to your crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours, checking a couple of times just to make sure that they don't get too dry. Depending on your crock pot, you may have to add an extra cup of water, but not too much. If you are uncertain, err on the side of too wet the first time you make this recipe.

At the end of 8 hours, the beans should be soft enough to smash easily against the side of the crock pot with a fork. If not, let them go another hour and check them again. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Your beans are ready to eat right now, just as they are with some fluffy rice or cornbread or both. You can also freeze these cooked beans, whole, in 2c. portions, to use in recipes that call for a can of pinto beans. The difference is, you have dramatically lower sodium compared to canned beans and they are much tastier. Use a slotted spoon to fill up your food processor with the beans, and pulse until smooth. You could use a blender, too, if that's what you have, just fill the blender only about half full or you might have a mess. The beans will set up just a little as they cool, but if your smashed beans seem too dry, add a little of the liquid from your crock pot. There are your unfried re fried beans. Vegetarian and fat free deliciousness.

Taste the beans once you've finished to adjust the seasoning if you like. Frankly, we like them well enough at this point give them a little sprinkle of cheese and call it bean dip. Allow your beans to cool, then freeze in whatever sized portion works for you. This recipe yielded four 2 cup portions of re fried beans and two 2 cup portions of whole pinto beans. Please try this recipe. You will never go back to the can.