Cowboy Baked Beans

From: Work It Mom

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
Chopped onion
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
Squirt of yellow mustard
Can of baked beans
Chopped bell pepper (optional)
Miscellaneous things from the cabinet - Worcestershire sauce, rib seasoning, seasoned salt
Bacon crumbles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook ground beef until brown, add onion and cook, drain excess grease. Mix the remaining ingredients in a casserole dish. Add the ground beef and onions and mix well. Top with bacon crumbles. Cook for 40-50 minutes.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This was super simple and really delicious. It was great for a large group. I'll definitely be making this again in the future. (I did leave out the bell pepper)

K.C. Baked Beans

From: Southern Living

Ingredients:
2 15-oz cans pork and beans, drained
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
3 bacon slices, halved

Stir together first 8 ingredients in a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish; top evenly with bacon. Bake at 350 for one hour.


What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing.

What I'll do differently next time:
Use less barbecue sauce - maybe 1/2 cup instead.

Verdict:
Big thumbs up! Seriously, have you ever seen a baked bean recipe that had apples and raisins in it? I haven't. I loved these beans and my kids did as well (hubby didn't even attempt to eat them!) The only thing was I felt like there was too much barbecue sauce, but it didn't make it taste bad, I just used a slotted spoon to serve these beans. A recipe that I will definitely make again in the future!

Baked Bean Soup

From: Crockery Cooking cookbook

Ingredients:
1 (1 lb 12 oz) can baked beans
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 Tbsp bacon drippings
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 (1 lb) can stewed tomatoes
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp seasoned salt

Combine all ingredients in slow-cooking pot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I used a little less bacon - 4 slices and a little less stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz can). Also, I didn't have any seasoned salt on hand so I mixed up my own recipe. Very easy. I'll throw that recipe in down at the bottom for you in case you want it.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing, except probably won't use 6 bacon slices the next time either.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! You can't get ANY easier than this, huh?? It is tangy and delicious. I'm not a huge fan of the bacon but it doesn't make it taste bad. This is a recipe I would not normally have tried but I marked it in this cookbook sometime in the past so I thought I may as well try it. Yum! Also, this recipe cost me under $3 to make because I just so happened to get bacon and stewed tomatoes on sale in the past couple of weeks. If I had paid full price I still think it would be under $5-6 which is still great. It will come up with about six servings if I quit eating it out of the slow cooker...

Printable version:

Ingredients:
1 (1 lb 12 oz) can baked beans
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 Tbsp bacon drippings
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 (1 lb) can stewed tomatoes
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp seasoned salt

Combine all ingredients in slow-cooking pot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Seasoned Salt recipe: (unfortunately I don't measure anything but I would say unless I say otherwise it would probably be around a teaspoon I used)
salt (put more salt than everything else; maybe about 4 Tbsp)
paprika (put more paprika in than any other ingredient but salt; maybe around 2 tsp)
thyme
marjoram
garlic salt
dry mustard
onion powder
dill weed
celery salt

I put them all in my mortar and pestle and ground them together. You could blend it in a mini blender or food processor as well. Easy!!