Refried Bites

First post of the new year, eh? Well, time to fire this old blog up again I suppose... here's a snack that involves leftovers you might have lying around, those being refried beans and mashed potatoes.
Basically we're going to make croquettes out of these two together:

You will need:
1 C. refried beans (firm, straight out the can is fine)
1 C. cooked mashed potatoes (also firm, and seasoned how you normally do them)
1/3 C. chopped onion
1 Tbsp. minced cilantro
1 Tbsp. minced jalapeno
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt to taste

1/4 C. cornmeal
1/4 C. cornflakes, ground into a cornmeal-like substance
chili powder. salt, garlic powder to taste

oil for frying

Mix together the things in the first group to make a relatively firm substance, adjust seasonings to taste. You will want to firm this up in the refrigerator for a bit as well. If you're worried about mushiness, due to overly wet beans or potatoes, simply add some flour, cornmeal, cornstarch or whatever to help remedy this, keeping in mind however that this may affect the texture or cooking time in various ways (you're smart you'll figure it out).
While that is chilling, mix cornmeal, ground cornflakes and seasonings. This here is your breading, my friend.
Heat oil in a pan or fryer. Make balls of approximately wild wacky bouncy ball size or like a smaller than a golfball size and roll these thoroughly in the breading. Fry in the oil, turning a bit, until all nice and browned. Drain on absorbent paper, being careful when you move them around so that they don't break apart.
Tasty crumbs indeed.