Dr Pepper Baked Beans

It's time to fire up the grill and what better to have as a side than baked beans.  I made these using Dr Pepper for an unique flavor that works well with all the ingredients.  I used the crock pot but you can make it in the oven also.

Dr Pepper Baked Beans

1# extra lean ground beef
5 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup Dr Pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 16 oz can light red kidney beans

Cook the ground beef.  When it's almost done, add in onions and garlic.  Finish cooking and place in crock pot with beans.  Stir in spices, brown sugar, molasses and Dr Pepper.  Cook for 4 hours over medium heat.

Tuscan Baked Beans

Baked beans without your normal sweet and tomato sauce.  There is a mild taste of tomato in the background but it's not overpowering.  

Tuscan Baked Beans

2 - 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3 oz pancetta, cooked, drained and crumbled

1/4 cup onions, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp parsley

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken stock

Cook the pancetta.  After you remove the pancetta, cook the onion until carmelized and then add in the garlic and cook a minute longer.  In a crock pot, place in the cannellini beans, crumbled pancetta, cooked onions and garlic and stir in the honey, parsley, crushed red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup chicken stock.  Cook over medium heat for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add in up to 1/4 cup chicken stock if needed.

Crock Pot Cranberry Beans

I recently bought a pound of Cranberry beans. They area a very pretty bean variety with their red streaks.  They sat on my counter for a couple of weeks until I decided just how I wanted to prepare them. My first thought was soup but the weather has turned warmer so the soup season has passed.  It was still crockpot weather though so here is what I came up with ~

Crock Pot Cranberry Beans

1 # cranberry beans, soaked overnight in water and drained

1 - 11.5 oz can of Low Sodium V8 juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 pieces bacon, diced, cooked and drained

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp Ancho chili pepper

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put everything together in the crock pot and mix well over medium heat.  Cook for 8 hours. Stir frequently.

Coca Cola Beans

It turned out to be a really nice day despite it looking like rain early this morning.  Perfect grilling weather so I decided to make a new bean recipe as a side in the crock pot early and spend most of the day outside.

Coca Cola Beans

1# ground beef

1/4 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp mustard

3 tbsp molasses
1 - 12 oz can of Coca Cola
1 - 16 oz can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 - 16 oz can butter beans, drained and rinsed4 pieces thick sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Brown ground beef with the onions.  In your crock pot or baking dish, combine beans, molasses ketchup and mustard and Coke.  Add in ground beef, onions, bacon and seasonings.  Cook until heated all the way through.

Maple Baked Beans

I love my Le Creuset French Oven and it has a permanent home on my stove top.  Plus it's Cassis which I also love.  Today I made a new form of baked beans with real maple syrup so your house is guaranteed to smell heavenly.  

Maple Baked Beans

1 lb dried beans - I used great northern
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ lb applewood smoked bacon, cooked in small pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup onions, diced
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar

Rinse and pick out bad beans.  Place in your french oven, add in 1/2 tsp baking soda and cover with cold water and let soak overnight.  In the morning, drain and rinse the beans, cover again with water and boil until soft.  Drain and save the water.  In a separate pan, cook onions in 1 tbsp of olive oil, remove and add to beans and then cook the bacon.  Let cooked bacon drain on paper towels before adding to beans.  Add in salt, dry mustard and real maple syrup.  Cook over a low heat for 8 hours.  Stir occasionally and add in saved bean water if necessary.

Calico Beans

My dreams of Spring were short lived.  Oh well, I should be used to it and the furnace running.  I have no doubts that I'll be running the furnace and air conditioning on the same day and it will hopefully happen soon.  Luckily these beans are able to be frozen and thawed back out on another grilling weather day.  I made them in the crock pot but they could easily be made in the oven too.

Calico Beans

1/2 # ground beef
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 - 16 oz can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
4 slices apple smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled

Brown ground beef with the onions.  In your crock pot or baking dish, combine beans, dark brown sugar, ketchup, mustard.  Add in ground beef, onions and bacon.  Cook until heated all the way through.

Mexican Pie

I admit I've never tried my hand at making a pie crust.  I only eat pie crusts with savory filling and sweet ones normally get left on my plate.  I'm certain I could do it since I've made other crusts and they have turned out well, it's just a matter of time management.  This recipe uses two of my previous recipes ~ refried (healthy) beans in the crock pot and my salt-free taco seasoning mix.

Mexican Pie

1 baked pie crust (homemade or dough/frozen)
1 cup refried beans
1 # extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup onions, diced
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Tomatoes, Lettuce, Sour Cream or any other of your favorite toppings

Place refried beans at the bottom of your baked pie crust.  Cook ground beef with onions, adding in the taco seasoning at the end.  When fully cooked, place beef on top of refried beans and bake at 350° for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese.  Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting.  Top with your favorite toppings.

Root Beer Baked Beans

I'm still trying to escape the heat and use up the free 2-liter of root beer I received.  I managed to use another cup of it but I have a long way to go.

              

                           Root Beer Baked Beans


   3 cans       canellini beans, drained and rinsed
   6 slices      applewood smoked bacon, sliced into 1/2"
                        -- pieces, cooked
   1/4  cup     onion finely chopped
   2 large       garlic cloves, finely chopped
   1 cup         root beer
   2 tbsp        molasses
   4 tbsp        ketchup
   1/2 tsp       ground mustard
                    salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large frying pan.  Remove bacon and add in onions with
bacon grease.  When almost translucent, add in garlic and cook for another 2
minutes.  Remove garlic and onions and put into crockpot with other
ingredients.

Cook on medium high for 2 hours.

Crockpot Refried Beans

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Today to celebrate the holiday I attempted another new recipe.  I think I'm going to use some for a turkey bean burrito in a little while.

Crockpot refried beans

2 cups pinto beans
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 dried chile chipotle
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp cumin
1 cup V8 Juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rinse and clean pinto beans and soak overnight.  Put in crockpot on high with onions, garlic and chile chipotle on high.  Cook for 8 hours occasionally stirring and adding liquid as needed (the V8 juice and water).

When the beans are soft, mash and add cumin, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Honey Baked Beans

The cold weather is finally leaving the area so I'm want to start creating recipes that are good for grilling and summer.

Honey Baked Beans

1 16 oz Great Northern Beans package
6 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup honey
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp molasses
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash and sort beans and soak overnight in 6 cups of water.  Rinse.  Place in 6 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth and cook until soft in crock pot.  Drain except for 1 cup of liquid and add in honey, ketchup and molasses.

In a frying pan, lightly cook bacon and before it finishes add in the onions.  Add onions and bacon to bean mixture and continue cooking for another hour on low heat.

Cincinnati Chili

I've been wanting to try this for a long time after seeing it on some random Food Network show.  There's 1,000 different recipes for it I've found so I created one for my tastes and I do believe that chili needs kidney beans.  I was leery of adding cinnamon and cocoa powder but it works.

Cincinnati Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion peeled and chopped
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 8 ounce tomato sauce, no salt
1 5.5 ounce V8 Juice
1 14.5-oz diced tomatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp  cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 large bay leaf
1 tbs cocoa
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 15 ounce kidney beans, rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with chopped onion and garlic.  Add in tomato sauce and V8 juice.  Add in spices and let simmer.

While cooking your spaghetti, add in kidney beans, Worcestershire and vinegar.

Serve chili over cooked spaghetti and top with shredded cheddar cheese