Baked Beans - messing with the canned stuff

Beans have always been a heat and serve proposition in my life. I never realized there were possibilities beyond that. So something funny happened to my insides when I saw this baked bean recipe on PW's website. Beans, veggies, bacon... all good for the foodiestudent.

So what have I got to lose?

Green peppers and onions. These were done in the food processor. The food processor slices but it does not dice. So inspite of the recipe specifically calling for diced peppers and onions.... too bad! I've been in the kitchen cooking and baking all day and I'm taking the easy route.

Bacon is a rarity in my house. It's not that I don't love the taste... cus I do. It's not that I'm concerned about the sodium and nitrates... cus I'm not. It's because I don't like the bacon grease film that coats the stove top, counter, and me after I cook it.

But the recipe calls for bacon and I suffer for my art ;)

This bacon is WAY undercooked. But the recipe said to way undercook it. I'm obedient :)

I drained off a little of the bacon grease and added the sliced onion and green pepper.

Fast forward 5 minutes and they are nicely sauteed. Time to add the key ingredient.....

... BEANS!!!! These are Heinz, straight from the can. I added the remaining ingredients... barbeque sauce, dijon mustard, brown sugar, and cider vinegar. After a minute or two it started to simmer which was my cue to pour the mix into a greased casserole dish. Then it was topped with the undercooked bacon and baked at 325 for 2 hours.

Yup, 2 hours. This baked for a looooooooong time. When all was said and done, it was very yummy. A little sweeter than expected (with BBQ sauce and sugar, I should have guessed) and the sauce was very thick as much of the liquid had evaporated. The peppers and onion are a minor component to the dish and you can't even taste them. The bacon on top was absolutely perfect though. Definitely cooked but not burned.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it. But given the 2 hour cooking time I'm not sure I'd make it again. Who has that kind of time for a side dish except at Christmas? So unless someone requests beans with their turkey this year, this recipe will be passed by many many times.