Boston Baked Beans

Pantry challenge #4.
Yesterday was a cheat day.  We had a garage sale, and then tuna fish sandwiches (from the pantry) for lunch.  Dinner was out of town with a cousin.
Day #5 - Sunday after church chili, and we'll be having pancakes for dinner  :)

Truly however, this post is about Boston Baked Beans - yum

Our daughter was baptized last week and we fed the troops for a couple of days.  We decided to have barbecued pork sandwiches for dinner Sunday evening, and I was looking for the perfect complement.  

I came across this recipe at all recipes.com. 

Here's what my kids said:

"Wow mom!, I've been looking for these beans my whole life.  Always trying them at different places, but this is the first time I've found them - these are my favorite!"

"Mom, these beans are awesome!!!" 

Need I say anything more?  

Honestly, my kids were literally begging me to let them at them 2 days before I was ready to serve them. 

Afterwards, we headed out camping for a family reunion, and I got requests from my brother in law to bring the left overs along.  

Definitely a hit. 

So, as I prepare to move, I thought I'd get them onto my online cookbook here so that I don't lose them.  I used pinto beans because that's what I had on hand.  I can imagine that navy beans would even be that much more amazing.  This recipe is scaled to feed about 12 people (but I found that it makes much more than I expected in reality)

• 4 cups navy beans
• 1 pound bacon
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
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• Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer the beans in the same water until tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and reserve the liquid.  
• 
  
• OR - rinse and sort beans, then place in pot - covered with water.  Bring to a boil.  Let boil 3 minutes.  Cover with lid, remove from heat and let steep.  
• Drain water, cover with fresh water (this helps de-gas beans too) and boil for 1-2 hours until softened.  (This is the speedy method I used). 
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• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Arrange the beans in a 2 quart bean pot or casserole dish by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of dish, and layering them with bacon and onion.
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• In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over beans. Pour in just enough of the reserved bean water to cover the beans. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
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• Bake for 3 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until beans are tender. Remove the lid about halfway through cooking, and add more liquid if necessary to prevent the beans from getting too dry.