Comfy Baked Beans

Crock Pot o' Beans

Baked Beans & Potatoes

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Mmm, mmm!  Home-made Baked Beans - yummy, comforting and economical!  Make them in a crock pot or open-face in the oven.  A fantastically warm and wonderful dinner with baked potatoes and a salad.  And lots and lots of left-overs for breakfasts, lunches and the freezer!  See recipe below.

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You will need:
2 1/2 cups small white beans
1/2 package of bacon
1 can crushed tomatoes (281  oz / 796 ml)
1 cup chopped yellow onion (or 3 tbsp
  dried minced onion)
3/4 cup ketchup
1 cup fancy molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

... start around 10 am to have ready in
​time for the evening meal.  ​

Instructions:
Rinse the beans in cool water and drain.  Then cover the beans with about 3 times the amount of water (approx 6 cups).  Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit covered for 1 hour.  Drain and discard water.

Cover with 3 times the water again.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for 45 minutes.  Drain, this time retaining 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

Tip: This is easy to achieve if you put a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup in your sink, under a colander in which you drain the beans.

Chop up the bacon and/or onion.  Then mix drained beans, bacon, onion, tomatoes, ketchup, 3/4 of the molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt and 1/2 the pepper.  Stir gently to mix.  Pour into a casserole dish and then drizzle the remaining molasses and pepper on top. 

Bake covered in a 300° oven for 2 1/2 hours.  Uncover, give it a poke, and bake, uncovered, for an additional 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours.

Seriously enjoy with buttered baked potatoes and a green salad.

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This recipe makes a lot!  So you will have yummy left-overs.  Here's some options:

Breakfast:  Do a traditional English fry-up with bacon, eggs, sausage, fried tomatoes, toast ... and a side of homemade baked beans!

Lunch:  Warm up and put in a thermos for the kids' lunches or enjoy with a bit of buttered toast.

Dinner:  Makes a great side with most Indian and Mexican dishes.  Try  breakfast burritos for dinner!  Load up a soft tortilla shell with warmed baked beans, scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, and chopped veg of your choice -- like green onions, peppers and tomatoes.  Roll up, sprinkle a bit of left-over cheese and veg on top, place on a baking tray and heat in oven until cheese melts.

Make sure you freeze some:  After 2 or 3 days, if you haven't used all the beans, do make sure you freeze them.  I tend to freeze several portions right away in different sized containers for a single serving or main meal.  Really helps out to have a loaded freezer of left-overs!

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Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2019