Black bean recipe

There are a million ways to prepare black beans (dried or canned). I will present my favorite way to enjoy them. You can also turn this into a soup, by adding 3 additional cups of stock or broth (maybe not plain water, since that would kill the flavor you've built).

Basic Black Beans

1- 15oz can black beans (no salt added, organic,), drained.
1- 15oz can diced tomoatoes (no salt added, organic)
2 t ground cumin
1 t smoked paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 chopped medium onion (color doesn't matter)
3 fat garlic cloves, chopped
Olive oil
Salt
1 cup water (or chicken stock)

Directions

1. Warm pan with enough oil to coat the bottom. Add onions. Sprinkle with a couple of hearty pinches of salt.
2. Add the pepper flakes and sautee the onions over med-high heat. Allow the onions to soften. Add the cumin and paprika. Toast the spices until you can smell them (maybe 30 seconds). Add the garlic, and sautee 1-2 minutes. Make sure the garlic doesn't burn!
3. Add the tomatoes, juice and all, and stir well. Give it a couple of pinches of salt.
4. Lastly, add water, stir well, check seasonings, then turn the heat to med-low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

NOTES:
You can make this in a crock pot with dry beans, just increase the to about 6 cups, and add everything in at once. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or overnight. Since you are using more water, you will need to add a few extra pinches of salt and increase the cumin to at least 1 T. I would also suggest replacing half or all of the water with chicken stock. If you chose to do this, select low sodium stock.