Cuban inspired Black and White Beans with Rice (now with crockpot action)

Growing up we ate a lot of beans and rice and even to this day it's one of my favorite comfort foods. I decided to make Cuban inspired beans in the crockpot since I had a busy day planned and  I didn't want to deal with cooking when I got home. Thanks to my handy dandy rice cooker, dinner was a breeze to prepare! I served this with this Two Onion Relish and cornbread muffins.

I think the leftover beans are going to be used later this week to make chili, especially since the flavors I used to prepare them will lend themselves well to chili.

1 cup black beans
1 cup white beans
5 cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 chopped green bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
cooked brown or white rice

1. Place the beans in a large bowl, add water to cover by 2 inches, and let stand overnight. Drain and rinse.

2. Put the beans, bay leaf and water into a crockpot on low.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute garlic, onion, and green pepper and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes. dd the cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir until it's absorbed into the onion mix. Add into the crockpot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or until the beans are tender. Discard the bay leaf.

4. Serve over rice and top with onion relish.