Meals in Minutes: A Picnic Favorite

Hi! Kristin here, bringing you this week's Meal in Minutes. Now, obviously you can't just eat these and these alone for lunch or dinner, but you could... because they are that good! I'm not a huge baked bean fan, generally. But I was in charge of the baked beans for our last family get-together and I had heard nothing but awesomeness about the Best Baked Beans Ever on the Pioneer Woman's blog. So I gave it a whirl. In the past, if I made baked beans, I dumped them out of a can and heated them up on the stove. So this was quite the project for me. It wasn't hard. But there were definitely more steps than opening a can, dumping them in, and heating the beans up. But it was well worth it. I highly recommend you make these for your next picnic or family reunion. But just know- they'll keep asking you to bring them.

Quick Southern-Style Baked Beans
recipe by Pam Anderson

Serves up to 18

8 slices bacon, halved

1 medium onion, cut into small dice

1/2 medium green pepper, cut into small dice

3 large cans (28 ounces each) pork and beans

3/4 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar

2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon in large, deep sauté pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and released about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients). Pour flavored beans into a greased 13-by 9-inch (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

That's it! Easy peasy! And, while you're waiting for them to bake, you might as well get those 4th of July pictures off of your camera and start scrapping! While it's not made to be a 4th of July kit, I love Jen's Rough & Tumble kit and it would definitely make some CUTE 4th of July layouts with the color scheme and all the stars she's included in the kit.