This recipe creates tasty, very slightly sweet refried beans. It is a bachelor’s recipe; the kind of thing that a man who knows nothing of cooking can make. All you need is:

Two Tbs Vegetable Oil
One Onion: coarsely chopped
Two 15 oz cans of pinto beans
Some pepper

Put the oil in a skillet and turn the flame up to medium. When the pan is hot, add the onions. Cook them for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally; don’t let them burn. When they are done, transfer them to a separate container. Leave the skillet where it is and hot.

Pour the contents of the two cans of beans into the pan: juice and all. Be careful! Pour a little of the juice in the side of the pan; if it is too hot, reduce the heat and wait or just pour the beans in very slowly. Use a potato masher to crush and stir the beans. Make sure the heat is not too high; you should never have the beans boiling beyond the occasional release of a steam bubble. Keep crushing and mixing until most of the obvious liquid has evaporated.

Add the onions to the beans, mix, add pepper to taste and eat.