Saturday, January 18, 2014

Frozen on Fridays #1

I know it is now SATURDAY, but yesterday came and went and oh well, I meant to start this at the start of the month....

Carrie over at Curly Crafty Mom is posting a monthly installment of freezer cooking.  I mentioned that I would like to play along and join in how other readers of her blog make the six o'clock dinner rush easier.

Last fall my good friend Katie put together a cookbook of favorite recipes from our former teaching colleague and friend, Michelle Morrell, that passed away from breast cancer in the fall of 2013.  The sale of the cookbook was a fundraiser for her young daughters.  Most of the recipes were Michelle's, ones she used in teaching Foods I at our high school school, but Katie asked friends to also contribute.  She asked me in particular to submit one called "Old Settlers Baked Beans."

Before you say, of all your freezer cooking why did you submitted beans?  I did for several reasons:

1.  It goes from freezer to crockpot and can be parceled out as a side or as a main dish. It is perfect with a pan of cornbread and a green salad.
2.  It is a go-to dish for picnics, tailgating, covered dish events, and can be made customized vegetarian. It a four season dish in our house.
3.  My friend Carolyn used to make this dish for her annual kid-friendly Halloween party.  She once told me a particular touching story about the timing of the party and a particular cancer-related anniversary in her life. Each time I make this dish I think of her and am thankful for her remission.

Old Settler's Baked Beans (original source:  Taste of Home)

1/2 lb ground beef or turkey (can be omitted)
1/2 lb cooked and roughly diced bacon (can be omitted)
1 medium chopped onion
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 16 oz can pork and beans (drained, not rinsed)
1 16 oz can kidney beans (light or dark) (drained and rinsed)
1 16 oz can Great Northern Beans (drained and rinsed)

Cooking directions-

In a large skillet cook beef and bacon, drain off fat and return to pan.  Add onion and cook until tender. Combine all other ingredients except beans.  Stir well and transfer to crock pot.  Stir in beans and cook on low heat until ready to serve, minimum of 1 hour if using the crock pot, 30 minutes if using the stove top.

Yield:  8-10 servings 

** add one can beef broth and one can tomato sauce to thin and make a chili

Enjoy-


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite recipes of yours. I love how it can be easily adapted to a main or side dish. So delicious my friend! Thank you for helping with my book. <3

Carrie said...

Thanks for mentioning me! I am loving all of the new freezer meals in my freezer. I hope you post more recipes! My kids love baked beans, esp. On mashed potatoes, not sure if that is weird.