"Different" Baked Beans

I've never been a fan of bean conglomerates.  They always seem yucka to me.  <Yucka=new fun to use word in our house thanks to Cookie Monster being on Top Chef.>  Last summer I wanted more veggies than were really available at a bbq so tepidly took a small amount, no make that 1/2 forkful, of a baked bean conglomerate.  Figured if they weren’t too bad I’d choke down a few more.  They were great!  I asked how they were made and the best answer I could get was “oh, I found the recipe online”.  Thanks.  With nothing to go on I started searching recipe after recipe.  I finally typed in “different baked beans” and amazingly a recipe called that came up and seemed much like what I had eaten.
I’m sure it’s not the same as that one didn’t have lima beans <thank goodness, we just do not like them in this house> and I’m still trying to tweak it for us, along with doing something about the bacon fat, but for now this is a great place to start and thought I’d share the starting point for now.

"Different" Baked Beans

• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can green lima beans
• 2 large cans pork and beans
• 1 can butter beans
• 1 pound bacon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 3 to 4 sliced onions

Chop and fry the pound of bacon, but do not drain the grease.

In a large Dutch oven, add the bacon and the beans. Mix and cook on stove or bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 to1 1/2 hours. Or you could cook it in a slow cooker on high for 1 1/2 hours.

Skim off fat before serving.

I'll stick with food coloring for my eggs, thank you.

I barely find the time to boil the eggs needed so we can dye Easter eggs before Easter day.......so when I saw an article telling me to try coloring eggs the natural way this year......well, all I could do was shake my head.  I wouldn't sway anyone from doing it; our whole family would probably get a kick out of doing it.  I just know it's not happening here.  If you'd like to give it a try just do a search for something like "vegetable-dyed Easter eggs" or "natural dyed eggs" and you'll find a wealth of info/directions and photos out there.  Fruits, vegetables, spices, tea and coffee are used.  There are wonderful photos of gorgeous results, including marbleized effects......I'll just be admiring them and sticking to my old standby of food dyes for our eggs.
If you give it a try I'd love to hear about your adventure!

You know how it goes.  You bought a big box of instant oatmeal packets but there’s one flavor no one in the house will eat no matter how much bribery you attempt.  You can’t stand wasting perfectly good food so you save them hoping one day you can convince someone to eat them.  Seriously, you know it’s not going to happen……until now!!  Make them into cookies…..but keep it a secret where they came from :-) .

Oatmeal Packet Cookies

Ingredients:
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c butter, softened
1 egg
6 packets flavored instant oatmeal *
1 c flour
add-ins as desired (chocolate chips, craisins, raisins) *

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except flour and oatmeal packets. Stir in flour and oatmeal packets. (If you like your cookies chewy and cakey, add 1-2 extra tablespoons of milk.)
Roll dough into 1 1/2″ balls and drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2″ apart. Smash the balls down to a thickness of about half an inch.
Bake until light brown, about ten minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet briefly, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

* NOTES:
1)The number of packets needed will depend on the size of the packets you use.  Open and mix in a couple of packets and add in additional packets until cookie consistency.  For example, using more than 4 packets of Quaker’s Weight Control 1.58oz (45g) will make them too dry (with those packets when used 4 packets the cookies were good, but were better when only used 3); smaller packets are when you use 6 packets.
2)You can use any flavor packets you have.
3)Add-ins make them better.  Our favorite has been 1/2 cup Craisins plus 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

The Adventure Begins!

Here's to learning and sharing new and old/recycled things!  Let the Adventure Begin!