(Sorry about the blurry picture, didn't have my glasses on!)
On May 7th, Jeff's mom and dad celebrated their 82th and 97th birthdays, respectively. As part of their birthday celebration, we invited some friends from the "old neighborhood" for a cook-out. For a few, it was the first time they had seen my in-laws since they moved in with us in August 2010.
One of their neighbor's, Sharon, brought over her famous Minnesota Baked Beans and they were DELICIOUS. They were sweet with chunks of bacon and a variety of beans, including lima beans. I thought they were not only tasty but interesting.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a few neighbors and friends for a Sunday evening cook-out. I mentioned to Jeff that Sharon's beans were delicious and wondered if the Minnesota baked beans were her recipe, as she grew up in Minnesota, or if there was really a recipe called Minnesota baked beans. To the internet I went and googled "Minnesota Baked Beans" and to my surprise...the recipe. Jeff was also looking through some of our Southern Living Cookbooks and came across this Five-Bean Bake. It had many of the same ingredients as the Minnesota baked bean recipes on-line. The recipe was easy to put together, 1-1/2 hours in the oven and we were set to go.
As I chopped and sauteed the bacon, got the onion diced and rinsed all the beans, I started laughing. We had doubled the recipe for 16 people and I had 20 cups of beans. The single recipe feeds up to 12 as a side dish. I kept thinking that there was going to be lots of leftovers.
With our menu of Wilson Farm's Red Skinned Potato Salad, a tossed green salad, Jeff's Sizzling Sirlion Steaks, grilled chicken and 20 cups of beans, we were ready for dinner. The beans were absolutely delicious. They were sweet but also had a sour edge from the cider vinegar. The mixture of five different beans made for a great taste as well as interesting texture. After everyone finished we had a small portion of beans for leftovers. Either people felt bad that we had so many beans or they truly liked the dish. I'm going to go with..."they truly liked the dish" and add this to my list of cook-out favorites.
Summer is almost here and weekend cook-outs are just around the corner. Be the hit of the party with this Five Bean Bake...a great side dish that's easy and delicious!
Ingredients:
8 slices of bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
1 (28 ounce) can of baked beans (we used B&M Baked Bean - Country Style)
1 (19 3/4 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 1/4 ounce) can of lima beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of ketchup
1/2 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed (we used dark brown sugar)
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
Preparation:
Cook chopped bacon slices in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp; remove bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet.
Add diced onion, and sauté in hot drippings 5 minutes or until tender.
Combine bacon, onion, pork and beans, black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lima beans, ketchup, brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, and cider vinegar in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
Bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour; uncover and bake 30 more minutes.
