Refried Beans with no hassle

Refried Beans

Ingredients
* 1 onion, peeled and halved
* 3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
* 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (or 1 4 oz can green chilies)
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 5 teaspoons salt
* 1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
* 9 cups water

Directions
1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno or chilies, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.