Shelias Family Famous Baked Beans Recipes

SHELIAS, FAMILY FAMOUS BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• In a 10 in. skillet, over medium heat fry 3 pieces of bacon till crispy, set aside the other 3 for the top. Take out and drain , save grease, in same pan medium heat, sauté onion and green pepper in the bacon grease ( I use a non- stick skillet, not much grease, you may have to add a little oil or butter ) sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the top when almost done. when done place in a medium size bowl , set aside - in same skillet , crumble in ground beef, place skillet over med. high heat , breaking up and stirring meat till no longer pink and slightly browned, sprinkling salt and pepper over the top when almost done. drain and set-aside.
• spray baking dish with cooking spray, pour in all the pork and beans . set-aside, In the medium bowl with the onions and green pepper add the brown sugar, mustard, A-1, ketchup and molasses, stir all this togeather until well mixed, pour over the beans already in the baking dish and stir into the beans until well mixed. place the remaining , uncooked 3 strips of bacon across the top of the beans and cover and seal with heavy duty Alumn. foil . place in 425 pre-heated oven and bake for 60 minutes.
• remove Beans from oven, carefully remove foil. and remove bacon from top, stir beans, crumble the 3 fried bacon across the top ( note, the bacon that was cooked only with the beans I discard or stick in the microwave to finish cooking , not good as is. ) This will be full to the top, if you need to transport it , best to put into 2 dishes . all ovens seem to cook different, this was the best temp for me.

OLD FASHIONED BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Place the dried beans in a pot of water covered by a few inches of water and let soak overnight. Drain the beans, place them back in the pot with fresh water and bring to a boil. Simmer for one hour, then drain, reserving the liquid. See NOTE.
• In a Dutch oven or other oven-proof pot fry the bacon until crispy then add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.Stir in the tomato sauce, molasses, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and bay leaf.Add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved bean water and the beans.Bring everything to a simmer for a minute or two to heat it up. In the meantime preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Transfer the Dutch oven with the lid on to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 2 to 3 hours or until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened, removing the lid during the last 20-30 minutes to help the sauce thicken. NOTE: If at any point during the cooking process too much liquid evaporates and the beans get dry, add a little more of the reserved bean water. The beans themselves can vary from batch to batch and you may end up either needing to add more liquid if the beans are too dry or you may need to bake the beans longer with the lid off if there is too much liquid. Adjust as needed.Add more salt the pepper to taste.Serve immediately or let cool completely and refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
• SLOW COOKER METHOD: Follow steps 1 and 2 and then pour everything into the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours or until the beans are tender. Open the lid for the last 30 minutes or longer until the sauce has thickened. If the beans are too thick at any point and too much liquid has evaporated, stir in a little extra water.