Slow Cooker Cuban Black Beans and Rice

I've been trying to find ways to cut down on my family's food budget by setting a goal to only have meat with dinner every other day. It definitely has been a shift in thinking! Whenever I look for a recipe, I usually start with whatever meat I have on hand and then go from there. So what do you do when you don't have a meat to start with? Beans my friend. Beans.

This recipe was absolutely delicious, and I loved how I could use dried beans without having to soak them overnight. I've shied away from using super affordable dried beans before just because of the soaking!

Ingredients:

1 lb dried black beans (2 cups), rinsed

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 large bell pepper, chopped (1 1/2 cups) (I used my 30 cent farmers market pepper!)

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I substituted garlic powder since I didn't have fresh on hand)

2 dried bay leaves (I left these out since I didn't have any, but I am sure they would be great)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

5 cups water

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño chilies (I also left these out since I didn't have any)

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:

1) In slow cooker, mix all ingredients except for rice

2) Cover, cook on high setting for 6-8 hours

3) Remove bay leaves, serve over rice