Ben's Baked Beans

Ben decided on baked beans for his part of the July 4th Throwdown using a recipe from Paula Deen (with a few of his creative changes).

Ingredients:

1 can French Fried Onions
6 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
2-3 tablespoons brown mustard
1 cup molasses
1 cup BBQ sauce
20 oz. can drained, crushed pineapple
64 oz. canned baked beans
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix beans, pineapple, molasses, BBQ sauce, bacon, and 1/3 of the onions. Add salt & pepper to taste, and pour mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle remaining onions and the bacon on top.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 - 60 minutes
Serve warm!

Ben learned that slicing the bacon before frying would be a good idea (thankfully I was not at home to see the apparent mess but he did well cleaning up the flying bacon that he chopped).

This recipe will be a repeat!

The Trimmings

I was strongly encouraged to prepare Shirley's Cheesy Potatoes and I must say they go well with ham! The preparation is easy and can be started the day before serving so that is a bonus. The original recipe called for plain cheddar cheese but we long ago decided that taco cheese gave the dish a little pizazz! There is also sour cream, butter, and onions in the dish.

Easter and carrots seem to go together and when your husband offers to help prepare them you can't go wrong. Glazed carrots were the choice and all it takes is a little butter and brown sugar after the cooked carrots are drained. A little parsley cluster never hurts and I always sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and dill on top!

The roll recipe came from a Lutheran Brotherhood magazine some 35-40 years ago. My Mom found the recipe and started making rolls and now I have been making them for about 37 years. Good grief, could it be that many years? Several years ago, because of medical issues, I made the rolls using skim milk and they were fair, but certainly not great. So we are back to using whole milk in the rolls and furthermore we don't have them on a regular basis.

The pineapple topped salad was made by our oldest daughter and it was very tasty! I believe it consists of crushed pineapple, Cool Whip, coconut pudding and it has that fluffy consistency! The pineapple rings and cherries carried out the party theme!