Everyone in my family loved baked beans when I was a little girl. They were the universal side dish to hamburgers, hotdogs, barbeque, and sometimes fried chicken or ham. Canned food reigned supreme in the 60’s and canned baked beans were what we grew up with. Sometimes we doctored them up with a little ketchup or some brown sugar. Sometimes there was the exotic sliced hotdog added to create a main dish that would send my modern day family into a tailspin should I slap that down on the table and call it dinner. Regardless, I grew up thinking baked beans were a pretty delicious part of any meal. Somehow when baked beans were on the menu it always felt like a party.
As cooking became more of a passion and I started perusing old and new cookbooks as a hobby, I discovered that some people ate baked beans that didn’t come from a can. Immediately I was entranced by the idea of “starting from scratch” with dried beans, soaked overnight and mixed with a variety of spices and sauces to simmer away in our old iron skillet. That skillet may have never come clean, I don’t remember (bet my mother does), but the sticky, chewy mess that resulted lives on as the stuff legends are made of in the minds of those brave enough to sample a bite. Did I ever try that again? Well, yes- and ok it was a tad better, but years of playing around with baked bean recipes have taught me that starting with canned beans is just fine. Those years of playing around with baked bean recipes have also lead to a dish that my friends adore and that I make all the time. It has my favorite beans in it, no rules about white or pinto beans. It has plenty of added flavor, sometimes I tweak the recipe by adding a ½ lb. of cooked ground sirloin. Sometimes there is bacon on top, sometimes not if I have a vegetarian crowd. It doesn’t matter. These baked beans are so good that occasionally the most awful scenario occurs and there ARE NO LEFTOVERS. We all know that’s the best part. As my friend Caroline says, “old, cold baked beans are the best leftover in the world!” You know sometimes I even eat them cold for breakfast and pretend I’m in England, where I was once served that very delicacy at am English B&B. If that’s too much for you then just go ahead and make these and eat them piping hot out of the oven. I promise it will feel like a party and your house will smell like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all day!
Ingredients *
28 oz can baked beans, undrained
15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained
15 oz can black beans, drained
1 cup frozen lima beans or 15 oz can of lima or butter beans
15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 small onion chopped
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp sorghum
¼ tsp ground ginger
2 tsp salt (taste – beans have varying levels of salt)
½ tsp garlic salt (more to taste)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
3-4 slices of bacon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large casserole combine all ingredients except bacon.
Top the filled casserole with bacon, cut to fit.
Bake for 1 hour checking a couple of times.
If beans are still a bit “wet” after 1 hour, bake another 20 minutes to half hour.
*This is the original “no official recipe required” recipe. I like to add ground sirloin, change up the beans, and toss in a bit of bell pepper, depending on what’s available. That sliced hot dog is sounding pretty good right now. Don’t hesitate to play with your food!
