Down South Crock Pot Pinto Beans saved my life

Pinto Beans saved my life.  I know it sounds strange but they did. My dad took a job that required moving the family from North Central Texas to the lower Texas panhandle when I was about 9 years old.  Getting started in his insurance business was slow going until he built a clientele.  That meant we ate what grew in a meager late fall garden and when winter hit  the only thing left in the pantry was beans because beans grow pretty dang well in a dry arid area.  Mom got pretty good at making them too. Dad was even better at seasoning them.