(twice) baked beans

We’ve had such mild weather lately that we’ve been able to grill out in the middle of February! I love baked beans, and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. We had these beans as a side to really delicious burgers on the grill. And while a dutch oven is not necessary, as with all things, it only makes it better!

My boyfriend thought it was comical that one of the ingredients in this recipe was in fact canned baked beans. Come to find out Whit himself passed off canned baked beans in a Crockpot as a homemade side dish for a holiday party years ago. If he had just had this easy recipe, he could have truthfully claimed this fabulous side dish as his own.

If chili sauce is unknown to you, you are in good company. I had no idea what it was before I made these beans. I found it between the cocktail sauce and ketchup in the condiment aisle at my Kroger. It's not hot (spicy), but more of a sweet ketchup. This sauce is tasty and will be a condiment staple in my fridge from now on.

This recipe is adapted from ‘Life After Ramen’ by Ann Thatcher and Randy MacDonald, who are Knoxville natives! I've truly enjoyed their cookbook in the years since I received it as a gift. The recipes have short ingredients lists and do not require a lot of skill or equipment to pull off.

In the future, I'll try to make baked beans from scratch. But in the meantime, I'm happy to have this time saving and absolutely delicious recipe for a summer favorite on hand.

serves 4-6
28 oz. canned original style baked beans
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced green pepper
6 oz. chili sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 strip bacon

to make your beans:
*preheat oven to 350
*mix all ingredients and add to the dutch oven
*top with bacon strip
*cover and cook for 15 minutes
*uncover and cook for another 15 minutes

serving suggestion:
this side dish is delish hot or cold!