Recession Recipe: Bar-B-Que Baked Beans!

Here we are -- the end of summer and the last summertime recipe of Economy Bites! We're sad that the scorching New York City summer days are at an end...but not really. Actually, it's pretty hard to do our show in the summer. No air conditioning in the kitchen = cranky, smelly E. Biters. Be glad that you're on THIS side of the camera!

Now that I've riled up your appetite, take a look at our final summer Economy Bites recipe: Bar-B-Que baked beans!

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Last time we used ketchup in a recipe I got criticized for having "ketchup as my main ingredient"...which it wasn't. It's also not the main ingredient here, so keep your fear at bay, a little ketchup won't kill you. It'll just make you say, "yummm".

Lastly: Beans on toast is a Southern thing. It's a great light meal, a yummy snack and it's crazy cheap to eat. It's cowboy food. So treat yourself to a nice home-on-the-range meal this weekend -- take some to a picnic or eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner. We promise tastiness.

INGREDIENTS

-3 medium yellow onions, diced

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-6 strips bacon

-1/2 cup molasses

-1/2 cup bar b que sauce

-1/2 cup ketchup

-1 1/2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

-1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

-3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

-4 1/2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

-3 14.5oz cans Kidney beans, drained

-salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE

-Chop garlic and onion. Set aside

-In a bowl, combine molasses, bar b que sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and brown sugar. Whisk and set aside.

-In a pot, heat olive oil until hot. Turn the heat to medium and cook bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove bacon to a plate with paper towels to soak up grease.

-Discard all but 2 Tbsp of the bacon fat from the pot and return pot to the oven. Turn heat back on to medium and toss in garlic and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.

-Drain and Rinse the beans. Add them and the sauce to the pot. Crumble in the bacon. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occassionally.

-Serve on toast, alone or with rice. Store in the fridge for up to a week!