Pot of Pinto Beans

The other night Michael and I went to another of our favorite little places for BBQ, Podna''s http://podnahspit.com/ All the BBQ of course is fantastic, even have BBQ trout WOW. They have several wonderful sides, corn bread, cole slaw, collar greens but my very favorite is the pinto beans, they are soft, creamy with so much flavor I just LOVE THEM!. I decided there must be a Mexican somewhere in that kitchen, hey well if they can do so can I, so I started yesterday by soaking two pounds of fresh pinto beans. This morning I drained and rinsed them. Added them to a big old pot and added water several inches above the pinto line. Let them boil and put them in the crock pot, I think they cooked about 2 hours, then I added a chopped onion, 6 diced garlic cloves, spices included cumin, oregano, espasote (helps w/the easiness) menudo mix, 2 bay leaves, thyme and some basil, be free they will just add to the flavor. They have now been cooking about 4 hours, I took about a cup to a cup and a half, pureed them and returned them to the pot (this is what makes them so creamy), stirred well then added salt and pepper to taste. You don't want to add the salt too early or your beans will never get tender. OH my they are so good, I can't wait till dinner. I'm going to be serving them with a cheese and avocado quesadilla and sliced catalope for a refresher. Try this dish, it is so satisfying to the soul. You can also add some meat to your quesadilla or make bean & cheese burritos. It's all good. So COOK ON...........