Baked Beans

So here are the baked beans we have at BBQs and picnics and just whenever the mood strikes.

Stuff: Canned Pork n Beans, whatever brand you like or is on sale, those 2 big cans are enough to feed say 8 normal adults or 3 of my uncles, BBQ sauce this is actually kinda optional, if I have it I use it but I don't go to the store for it, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, pancake(maple) syrup, another I don't run to the store for thing, onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder, and the will run to the store for thing...bacon.


First, open the cans of beans and dump them into a strainer or colander, you want to rinse all that "tomato sauce" they come in off. Then dump the beans into a bowl and then start adding the other stuff (no bacon yet). This recipe really does not have measurements, you have to taste the sauce and make sure it's right, just a nice balance of all the flavors.

I usually put about 3 squirts of ketchup then maybe 2 of mustard and one of bbq sauce. Syrup gets a good squirt and then 2-3 big tablespoons of brown sugar. The onion and garlic get good healthy shakes and the chili powder depends on if I want to fight with my kids about it being too spicy.

Stir it all together and taste, see what you need more of or what you need to balance out, the mustard tends to get strong fast but a little more ketchup and sugar fix that. Oh yeah, heat the oven to 350.



Pour it into an oven safe dish, I think this one holds something like 1.5 quarts and smooth out the top with your spoon. Now for the good stuff.

Bacon. Ok so you can either use completely uncooked bacon, which I do if I'm feeding more than just a few, or you can use some cooked but not crispy bacon. This stuff was leftover from a recipe where I needed it half cooked in a skillet and half in the oven. Just lay it over the top there then pop it into the oven for 30-45 minutes.

You know it's done when the top just starts to look at little dry and the sugar around the edges of the pan gets crunchy(carmelized).

Ok so I was more worried about fixing plates and watching the ending of the superbowl then getting a pic of the finished beans. But this is what they look like when done, top is dry and crunchy, underneath is moist but not dripping like that "tomato sauce" was. You can have these with ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, anything really. They have that nice bbq type flavor to them.

Slow Cooker Ribs

Here's how I cook Baby Back Ribs in the slow cooker. I usually start them about 1:30 before I go pick the kids up from school and they are ready and waiting any time after 5.



What you need: Big damn bottle of BBQ Sauce, we just like KC and it comes in the giant bottle, I usually go with 3 racks of ribs, seems just the right amount for 3 adults and 2 kids.


First you need to mix up the BBQ Sauce, half and half water and sauce, just makes it easier to use some kind of pouring bowl. I did this step twice as I needed about 8 cups of liquid to cover the ribs.


It does look really gross before you stir the sauce into the water so I skipped that picture.


Pour all the good sauce into the slow cooker and go ahead and turn it onto high, if you want them done in about 4 hours or low if you have all day.



Get out you cutting board and a really sharp knife, I like to cut the racks down to about serving size. This makes it easier to fill plates and also makes them fit better in the cooker.


Nope it doesn't look like a lot but trust me it's plenty with all the other goodies made.


Dunk all those ribs down into the sauce and make sure they are covered, anything peeking out won't taste as good, that's why there's so much sauce. Put the lid on and go watch a movie, pick the kids up from school, or do laundry.


Yeah so I almost forgot to take this picture seriously it was under the 2 minute warning and I had already tried cutting my finger off getting corn off the cob. Anyway, so using my trusty tongs pulled out a section of ribs, then used the tongs to just grab the bones and pull them off my plate cause well they were taking up room.