Black Beans on Slow Cooker (Crock-Pot)

Estimated time: 10 hours.

What you need:

• Black beans (dry, 1 small package, 12 - 14 oz)
• Salt (to taste)
• Olive oil (some prefer other oils for slow cookers, use what you feel comfortable with)
• Italian Seasoning Mix (1 teaspoon)
• Basil (1 teaspoon)
• Oregano (1 teaspoon)
• Cayenne pepper (to taste)
• Red Onion (half)
• Garlic (1 tablespoon, minced)
• Optional: Your favorite strong sausage (Portuguese Paio or Linguiça, Spanish Chorizo, Cajun Andouille, your pick)

Get to it:

• Tip: this dish can cook by itself overnight or during the whole day, if you start before going to bed or early in the morning.
• Coat your slow cooker with olive oil, or other substitute oil.
• Add beans and cover with water, leaving around 2 1/2" of water above the beans.
• Add all spices, onion, garlic, mix.
• Close, turn on low heat for 10 hours. Forget about it.
• Next morning (or by the end of the day) your beans should be done. (In some slow cookers, cooking time can go up to 12 hours. Check yours.)

Optional:

• If adding sausage, add in the next morning, and turn on low heat for 1 extra hour.