{conditioning and beans}

So I took a psych class this summer (by far my least favorite subject...I have never heard so many excuses in my life), but I have to admit there were some cool highlights during those weeks. We talked a lot about classical conditioning. My teacher would talk about ways that he would condition (manipulate? just kidding...they were funny) his wife to like football (more) through cuddling/affection. I would come home and tell D all these stories and we would tease each other about how effective crab would be in these situations.

beautiful? not even a little...but so good!
So...for the past few months when I come home from work, D and I will go to the gas station to get a soda for him (it's his favorite thing and apparently this place is a full 23 flavors- the best). This usually happens a few times a week. The timing usually works out such that I am starving when I get home from work or D is rushing to get to school and needs to eat something quickly. Since there are some really good and cheap bean burritos right across the street from the gas station, we have been stopping there more often than we should (bean burritos are embarrassingly easy to make...we have been lazy to the max). Realizing the dumbness of the idea, I resolved to using our massive bean storage on a regular basis to make "un-refried" beans for quick, healthier, and cheaper burrito eating. We used to be really good at this, but I was always so tired that first trimester that it didn't happen. Bad excuse. To this day, everytime we go to the gas station, I have this massive craving for a bean burrito. Every time without fail. It's funny how we can unconsciously condition ourselves to certain things. Have you had a similar experience?

no frills here
This refried-bean-without-the-refry recipe is pure awesomeness and combined with a good whole wheat tortilla and hot sauce, makes the perfect, simple bean burrito. I mean amazing. It took me awhile to find the tortilla I liked (Flat Outs just don't work for burritos), but now it's perfect and healthy. Lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. You can use black, pinto, or a mix of both. We like to mix the two, but we need to use our dried black beans and I'm too cheap to go buy pintos. Most of the time I skip the black pepper for easiness sake. The onion gets so soft that it disappears into the beans when you mash them which is perfect for onion texture haters like D. In fact, I have another batch in the slow cooker as we speak...