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Baked Beans

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We grew up eating baked beans, the baked beans out of a can. They were pretty darn good back then. Little did I know baked beans could be even better.

I was dating a guy from another town before I moved to Vancouver. His parents had a cabin at a lake about halfway between our two little towns. Plus a boat, water skis and all the fun summer toys. We spent our summer at this cabin with his family and friends having a good old time – the summer of 1989! There was this one time his mom cooked up a big batch of home made beans for our farewell BBQ. I am pretty sure I still have that recipe since she wrote it out for me. This is how I learned beans could be more than just out of a can.

Baked Beans
Baked Beans

I became more adventurous with baked beans when I got married. Some of the recipes we enjoy are these Smoky White Beans and Salsa Baked Beans. Several years ago my father in laws girlfriend Paulette introduced us to her baked beans with all kinds of yummy extras. I’ve had them a few times and they are really good. She shared the recipe with me and I will share it with you soon. It was Paulette’s use of large canned ready to eat beans, with an added flavour boost, that inspired me to make these beans.

Baked beans are oh so popular here in Calgary around Stampede time. They are a delicious side to any BBQ fair and we love to serve them with our Beef on a Bun. We’ve made these beans for a camping potluck and in the slow cooker.

 

Camping Beans
Camping Beans

 

This recipe makes enough for a big potluck or crowd. You will want to cut the recipe in half for smaller groups.

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Baked Beans
Author: 
Recipe type: side, dinner, lunch
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • ½ package bacon
  • 2 cans baked beans, 1.36L
  • 1 can pineapple tidbits
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce (your favourite)
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • salt
Instructions
  1. Cook bacon in a dutch oven or heavy bottom pot over medium heat until cooked through. Do not cook until crispy as they will continue to cook with the beans. Rough chop and set aside.
  2. Drain half of the bacon fat into a jar for later use and keep the rest in your pot.
  3. Pour both cans of beans in the pot. Add pineapple tidbits and stir.
  4. In a small bowl mix together BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard and maple syrup. Add a small pinch of salt. Stir in BBQ mixture and bacon.
  5. Bring beans to a boil then reduce to low simmer stirring regularly. Let cook 30-60 minutes and sit 15 minutes before serving. They will thicken as they sit.

 

Whiskey Marinated Flank Steak

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My man loves his whiskey. But only once in a while. Our liquor cabinet holds quite a few bottles of liquor that rarely gets touched. Especially those little ones. You know how sometimes you buy a bottle of something and it has a little mini me bottle attached, well there are several mini me bottles in the cabinet that are taking up space. So I used one.

And it came down like this….I picked up not one, but two mini bottles of whiskey and set to make a marinade. One I used in the marinade and the other (a Spiced Whiskey Vanilla to be exact) I consumed over ice because it sounded amazing. And it was.

A few more things went into the Ziplock bag followed by the flank steak. We marinated this bad boy for a couple hours and then grilled it up to perfection (rare and tender). The outcome was simple but flavourful. Here’s how I did it.

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Whiskey Marinated Flank Steak
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner, lunch
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 Flank Steak
  • ⅓ cup whiskey
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sweet red chili sauce
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ziplock bag
Instructions
  1. Pour whiskey, mustard, soy sauce, sweet red chili sauce and brown sugar into ziplock bag. Squishy to combine.
  2. Add steak, shake and swoosh it around so steak gets covered in marinade. Close bag.
  3. Place in refrigerator and let marinate for about 2 hours.
  4. Over medium high heat grill steak for approximately 5 minutes per side. 10-12 minutes will get you a rare steak. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before carving.

 

 

Sloppy John

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I named this dish after my late Uncle John.  He had a good life and lived to the ripe old age of 83.  Not long enough however to see my food blog, but I’m sure he would have loved it.

I must admit I’ve never had the phenomenon known as a “Sloppy Joe”. It continues to appear in lunch and/or dinner recipes and is becoming a very common meal in people’s homes especially with the economy the way it is. What’s nice about this meal is you can make it any way you like and serve it over a baked potato, buns, french fries, nacho chips, in a wrap or even on a pizza. By varying the meat (ground chicken, turkey, pork or beef) you can have this once a week and never get bored with it.  Even better is it cooks away in your slow cooker making your house smell divine.

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Sloppy John
Recipe type: Entree, Main, Lunch,
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ lbs lean ground beef
  • ½ onion, minced
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced or minced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and minced
  • 1 12 oz bottle chili sauce (or more)
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp - pickle relish (sweet - green stuff)
  • salt pepper to taste
  • Serving accompaniments: baked potato, rolls/buns, french fries
Instructions
  1. In frying pan brown your ground beef. Add in onion & celery and cook for a few minutes. Pour this mixture into your slow cooker and add all other ingredients. Cover and cook approx. 4-5 hours on low.
  2. Get your accompaniments ready and spoon your Sloppy Jane on top.
  3. PS - If you are serving on a bun/roll of sorts, cut up some fresh veggies and place on top (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, shredded carrots, cilantro) - whatever floats your boat.