Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Joey's Favorite Baked Beans



Whenever we have a Quaile Family BBQ, everyone brings a different delicious something. Before you know it, there's enough food to feed an army. We often say that some families plan for weeks for what we put together at a moment's notice. We definitely have it down to a system. The emails start flying, menu suggestions are made, and suddenly we have a list of who's making what. Everyone seems to have his or her own specialty. As much as I love bringing new and fun desserts, I'm always glad when everyone requests my baked beans. What's a BBQ without baked beans, right? This is my own recipe and I hope you like it. I even got Uncle Herb's seal of approval for this one. And remember the Cass Quaile School of Cooking. "If you like a lot of bacon, add a lot of bacon. If you like a lot of onions, add a lot of onions."

1/2 lb. bacon, thick cut
1 onion, diced
2 28 oz cans baked beans
2 tbs yellow mustard
1 cup ketchup
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cut bacon into small bits and then saute in a skillet along with the onions until the bacon is slightly crisp and the onions are soft. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together all other ingredients. Add onions and bacon to bowl and stir. Pour into a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Tip:
After baking them in the oven, feel free to transfer them to a crock pot to keep them warm at your BBQ. Come to think of it, you could actually just cook them in a crock pot and forget the oven, if that makes your life easier. They'll be delicious no matter how you do it.
By the way, you can usually find liquid smoke in the supermarket aisle where you'd find BBQ sauce.

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