Basic Baked Beans

(I have no pictures for this post as well! :( I was going through my recipes and saw that I hadn't posted this one, and have NO clue where the pics are for this, but let me tell you, I DO KNOW for a FACT that I will be making this again! This would be GREAT with hamburgers or hot dogs for a cook out! Yummy! I'm thinking I am going to have to make this, and soon!!! :D)


I actually remembered to soak the beans last nite! :) Also, since I was up early, I went ahead and started cooking them. It took about 2 hours to cook and let me tell you, the house smelled sooooo good! I don't know what it is about beans cooking, but I just LOVE the smell! ;) Maybe it's because I remember my mom cooking them and when she did, she always cooked something good! Most likely a recipe that was my Aunt and Uncles, so it was G-O-O-D!!!!!!!! ;)

I served this with rice. It as really good! The kiddos all asked for more, so that's a plus in my book! :)

I really liked the fact that I could just put this in the oven and pretty much forget about it for 4 hours! I am pretty sure you could put this in the crockpot, but this was soo good in my cast iron pot just baking in the oven! Plus, it made the house smell really good too!

This recipe calls for navy beans, which I thought I had, but I couldn't find them. So I just soaked 2 pounds of pinto beans. I knew the recipe for the next nite would have pinto beans, so now, one step done for tomorrow's recipe! ;)

Basic Baked Beans

Soak overnite
1 pound navy beans and enough water to cover and then a bit extra. Your beans will swell up, so you want to make sure there is enough water. ;)

In the same liquid that you soaked the beans in, simmer for about 2 hours. Bring it to a boil and then turn way down to simmer for an hour and a half to 2 hours.
Drain, reserving the liquid.
Preheat oven to 275-300 degrees.
Combine in 2 quart casserole:
cooked beans
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 slices bacon, chopped, or 1/4 pound salt pork (optional)
reserved bean liquid to cover
Stir it all to combine.
Bake 4-8 hours adding liquid occasionally if necessary. Cover during first half of baking time, then uncover.

*I didn't have any bacon, so I didn't add any meat. I think it would be GREAT with some bacon flavor in this!
The recipe also calls for 1/4 cup ketchup, but I added a bit more.
And like I said at the top, I didn't have any navy beans, so I used pinto. Tasted just fine to me! ;)
Enjoy this super easy meal! It does take time, but really, the only time is waiting for the beans to soak and then to cook in the oven!