Best Black Beans EVER

So, how did I get to be this old and have NEVER prepared dry beans.  I've read folks who say that beans from scratch are the best, but honestly, I was a bit intimidated.  I think it's because I once tried to do them in the crock pot and they were grossly undercooked...yuck.

But for some reason, I bought two pounds of dry black beans last grocery trip, and I made a point of trying to make them. The thing that is even more exciting is that I didn't really follow a recipe.  Here's what I did:

Around 3pm I put about a 1/2 pound of beans in a pot, added 4 cups of water and brought it to a boil.  Let it boil about 3 minutes, then covered the pot and let it sit for an hour.

Drain the beans

Around 4pm I chopped an onion, chopped a celery stalk, and chopped a jalapeno.  Cooked them in a bit of olive oil until tender (5 minutes or so...) added the beans and about 4 cups of fresh water.  I got that up to a boil, then turned down the heat to simmer for about 2 hours (or so)

When the beans seemed tender, I used my immersion blender to mix it all up -- then stirred in about 1 cup of  Mexican cheese.

Okay, I know it's immodest, but these beans were fabulous!  I.will.never.buy.canned.beans.again!