Best In Show Baked Beans

Finally, I will give up how I make them! I have gotten raves for my baked beans over the years and I decided to not tell exactly how I made them so that at the next church event there wouldn't be 5 dishes of them. Selfish, I know.

I have never used a recipe, so I decided to write down everything I did, so that at least my kids would be able to carry on the "Best In Show" at all their BBQ's.

I have been able to convert non bean eater's with this recipe. I make a lot and freeze the rest if there are any leftovers!

Making the beans I found that all-beef smoked sausage dries out cooking it a long time. The all-meat smoked sausage stays moist. I have also played around with different smoked sausages and I always come back to Hillshire Farms.It holds up and you never find hard pieces of meat or fat in it. I have tried making them in a crock pot (multiple crock pots) but the juices and sugars don't reduce down like they do in the oven. I stick with what works for me.



How easy can a recipe be, if you just throw everything into the pan and bake?

Hot, bubbly, sweet, smokey, and yummy....

Best In Show Baked Beans
4 cans of Pork and Beans
1lb (Hillshire Farms)all meat smoked sausage cut in 1/4 inch slices
1lb Maple Bacon Thick sliced diced into cubes
2 1/2c. brown sugar
1/4 c. molasses
3Tlb. Worcestershire sauce
1tsp. liquid smoke
2T smoked paprika
1c. ketchup
l Tlb. yellow mustard
1 lg. yellow onions chopped
1/2 bell pepper diced fine

Throw everything in a medium roaster or a medium throw away foil pan. Bake 300 degrees for 2 hours, stirring once. Remove and let cool. It thickens after its cooled.

Elvis' Peanut Butter Banana Bacon Sandwich

Dedicated to the King of Rock-N-Roll! Hopefully, this sandwich isn't what killed him! Also, to my dear friend Cleo, whom I have never met a greater Elvis fan than her! She was my all time best scrapbooking buddy ever.


My husband will only make a sandwich with 2 slices of lunch meat, slice of cheese, mustard and mayo. No lettuse or pickles... no frills. He's a creature of habit and can't seem to think out of the boring sandwich box! I have seen him put a dollop of peanut butter on a banana and eat it.That's about as close to excitement as he can manage in the kitchem. No problem... he has me.



Elvis Sammie

Throw caution to the wind. This is the true low calorie count sammie. Not! Don't even try counting them!

I take a rustic loaf of bread and cut several slices. Butter the bread with that yellow goodness (remember you have thrown caution to the wind) and place one slice into a med-high skillet. Spread mayo (not Miracle Whip... no miracle to me) on the on the other slice of bread.

Smear on some peanut butter goodness, some sliced bananas and some crisp bacon slices.





Add the other slice of bread on top.






Smash the sandwich down by using the weight of another heavy skillet.
This beats paying $80 bucks for a Panini press!



'Sandwiched' between two cast iron skillets.

 Toast a few minutes till golden brown and flip. Toast the other side and enjoy!
Humming, "You ain't nothin but a hound dog" (with my mouth full).

Meatloaf

Meatloaf can bring up painful memories for some. Dry, firm tasteless meat that was shaped, baked, sliced and served to poor little unsuspecting kids. I avoid meatloaves at any social potluck due to past bad experiences. 

Here's a recipe for meatloaf that may change your mind about boring meatloaves. It's moist, and full of robust flavors that will make you want to get seconds.

I've never used a recipe...humm... I rarely ever do. That's why it's challenging for me to write down what all I put in things. A little dab of this and a little dab of that... and maybe that would taste good. Oh, what the heck, I'll throw that in too!

That's how I cook. It frustrates my kids and friends who ask for recipes. This is why I started blogging. Who knows, I might be able to tell my husband to go to my blog and make something for supper one day. And... maybe not.

I start with 1 1/2 pounds ground beef. I like a little fat content or it will be really dry. Save that expensive ground beef for something else.

I chop fresh herbs if I have them. Today, I'm using, fresh from my garden, thyme, parsley, and my very first bell pepper (it's a little small but cute). I can't claim the eggs.

In a large bowl I add ground beef, onions, bell pepper, herbs, 2 eggs, 1Tlb Worcestershire sauce, seasonings (1/2 tsp Tony's creole seasoning, 1/2 tsp. paprika,1/4 tsp. garlic powder,& black pepper),1/4 c. ketchup and 1 heaping Tlb tomato paste.

  And... here's the secret to my moist meatloaf..... 1 can whole tomatoes, crushed and 1/2 reserved to use in the sauce to go on top.                                                

                                                                                 

Crush a sleeve of saltine crackers with a rolling pin. Add to bowl and mix everything till combined. Don't overwork or it can make the meat tough.

Shape into a baking dish.

For the sauce, mix 1/2 c. mild jarred salsa, the reserved tomatoes, 3Tlb. brown sugar and 1 c. ketchup.

Smear on enough sauce to cover the top of meat. Open 2 cans pork-n-beans and pour down the sides.

OR..... 2 cans of green beans (drained) for a more traditional meal.

Add the remaining sauce over the beans mixing slightly.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours. I'm at 7000 feet altitude so, I have to cook for an extra half hour.

 If you use green beans instead of pork-in-beans, you'll love how the sauce flavors the green beans!

Oh.... there will be meatloaf sandwiches for lunch this week! Hummm... Some pickle, lettuse, tomato, onion and a slice of american cheese! Place the meatloaf slice on bread with the cheese and broil till hot and bubbly. Add the cold veggies with some mayo and comfort food joins you for lunch time.


RECIPE:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1Tlb. Worcestershire sauce
1 bell pepper diced
1med onion diced
1tsp. dried thyme (or fresh)
2Tlb dried parsley (or fresh)
1/2 tsp Tony's Creole seasoning (or season salt)
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
black pepper to taste
1/4 c. ketchup
1 heaping Tlb tomato paste
1 can whole tomatoes crushed (half reserved for sauce)
2 eggs
1sleeve crushed saltines



SAUCE:
1 c. ketchup
1/2 c. jarred mild salsa
1/2 can whole tomatoes crushed
3 Tlb brown sugar

Kid Favorite- Spanish Wieners

My Kids favorite home made 'fast' food was and always will be... Spanish Wieners. I grew up eating this myself. I have no clue where this recipe came from and I've never seen it anywhere.I've heard it called BBQ Wieners and Spanish Weiners. I have stuck with Spanish Wieners since it does contain 'Spanish Paprika'.  It's so simple and really quick to make. I've never had a single adult or kids say they didn't like it. This is the recipe I have had to text to my kids and friends, the most. It's the one my kids said they missed the most once they got out on their own.

I make this, traditionally, with bread and butter and french fries. Keeping my freezer stocked with wieners and frozen french fries has been a life saver over the years. For the time it takes to heat the oven for pan baked fries, I can quick thaw the wieners and have dinner on the table before the fries come out of the oven!

When my kids were little they hated onions (they did grow out of it) so I learned to cut them in slivers so they could easily remove them, but the adults could still enjoy the onions. I started out making only 2 pks of Wieners but when my oldest son, Jeremy, hit his teens I had to increase the amount about every 6 months! Then, we learned to feed him at all you can eat buffets to save on our grocery bill! His first job was at an all you can eat pizza buffet.

Spanish Wieners
1 lg. yellow onion slivered

2Tlb oil

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1 1/4 c. water

1Tlb Worcestershire sauce

1/2 Tlb vinegar

1Tlb. paprika

2Tlb sugar
1Tlb yellow mustard
2 pks wieners cut into penny slices

Saute onions in oil till really tender. Add all ingredients except wieners. Stir well and simmer a few minutes to marry the flavors. Add  wieners and simmer 10-15 minutes or turn it on low, so you can finish watching your favorite episode of Psych. I have to find the hidden pineapple! Darn, that show makes me laugh! 

Serve with french fries, and slices of bread and butter.

Depending on your kids appetite will determine how many this will serve. When the wieners are spreading a little thin I have loaded the plates with fries and bread.

Seriously, I think it will serve 4, but maybe, as many as 10 toddlers! Maybe.... only one soldier or two teenage boys.