If you have never had Spanish chorizo, this is the perfect opportunity. It is unlike a Mexican chorizo, and this Spanish type is full of paprika and other spices, and has a bit of a spicy tone to it. A slight fat content makes this sausage perfect for sautéing and with the combination of a couple of simple vegetables will really get you thinking more about Spanish chorizo.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 Spanish sausage links, sliced about 1/2 inch thin
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced and diced, seeds removed
• 20 oz can of cannellini beans, drained
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1/2 loaf of rustic French bread, sliced and toasted

Begin by heating a pot on medium heat. Add in your sliced chorizo and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Depending on the amount of fat cooked off from the sausage, strain, but reserve about one tablespoon. Add in your onion and garlic, and give a good stir. Cook for another five minutes on medium heat.

Toss in your red bell peppers, cook for a few minutes until it begins to soften, then add in the white beans and chicken stock. Give this a good stir, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes.

During this time, place your bread under the broiler, and toast. When it is nice and toasted, rub a clove of garlic over the top, and set the bread aside.

When you are ready to serve, add the beans and chorizo mixture to a small bowl, and wedge some of the toasted bread into the dish.

The fun thing about this dish is not only its simplicity, as well as flavor, but also using the bread as one of your utensils. Hope you enjoy.

My wife had asked what the pasty was, and the waitress came back with this description that I was not buying as a foodie, so I had described it to both of them, relating it to the empanada, or turnover. Basically a flaky dough that is filled with a meat mixture, folded and sealed, and baked until fully cooked. With that said, I had told my wife that I was on the edge of making my version of a pasty called a Jamaican meat pie, or other wise known as the Jamaican patty.

Now I have never been to Jamaica, and trust me, I would love to go, not only to relax on their beaches, but also to try the jerk chicken, and also their saltfish and stews. I do know enough however of the flavors of Jamaica, and decided to offer up my version of a meat mixture to make these Jamaican meat pies. Let’s get started.

Ingredients for the Dough:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 2  tsp turmeric powder
• 8 tbsp Crisco vegetable shortening
• 8 tbsp butter, unsalted, cubed
• Approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cold water
• Additional flour for dusting
• Large cutting board, or pastry board

Ingredients for the Meat Filling:

• 1 lb of good ground beef
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 large habanero pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
• 15 oz can of tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup of cooked rice
• 1/2 cup of beef stock
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 1/2 tbsp salt (to taste)
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper (to taste)

Ingredients to make the pie:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp water

Begin by making your dough. To a large bowl, sift in your flour, salt, and tumeric powder. Sifting your ingredients not only removes any lumps, but it also makes the dough nice and flaky. Add in your shortening and the butter. Take a couple of forks and begin mixing the butter and shortening into the flour. Once everything is incorporated, begin adding in the water. Add enough water until your mixtures turns into a dough, making sure it is not too loose and not too wet. Form into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap, placing it in the refrigerator over night, or let it rest for at least four hours.

To make the meat mixture, heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add in the diced onions and cook just until they begin to soften. Next, toss in your ginger and garlic paste, giving it a good stir and cooking for another minute. Next toss in your ground beef, breaking it up and mixing it along the way. Cook the meat until browned. Cover, allowing only a little space so that you can tip over and remove any excess fat.

Return the skillet back to the stove. Add in your tumeric, cumin, and cinnamon powder, as well as the thyme and diced habanero pepper. Give it a good stir, and continue to cook a few more minutes to incorporate those flavors. Next toss in your tomatoes and cooked rice, giving that a good stir, and cook a couple of more minutes. Add in your stock and rum. Cover, reduce the heat and cook for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. You want to make sure you have all of the right seasoning before filling into your pie.

Remove the mixture from the skillet and place into a medium bowl, letting it come to room temperature.

When you are ready to make the meat pies, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator.

Dust your pastry board with the flour, and take approximately a baseball size piece of the dough, flattening it onto the board. Dust with flour. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into about a six inch circle.

Add a few tablespoons of the meat mixture into the middle of the dough. You want enough dough in there to be able to fold over the dough, allowing for a good seal.  Add the water to the beaten eggs,  an brush along the edge of the dough. Fold and seal the pie. With a fork, crimp the edges of the pie and brush more of the egg wash on the top of the pie. Repeat until you make all of the pies, approximately 6-8 pies.

Place the pies onto a large baking sheet and cook in the oven for approximately 25-35 minutes or until golden. Carefully remove a pie from the sheet and plate.

The first thing you should note is the great color of the pie. It has a nice vibrant yellowish-orange color from the tumeric powder. When slicing into the pie, you are welcomed with a phenomenal smell, and while biting into one, you get this great texture that is just packed with the perfect amount of heat. The sweetness from the dough balances the heat from the habanero, making this pie truly comforting. Enjoy.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 head of garlic, minced into a paste
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup of canola oil, plus 3 tbsp
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• 1 large tomatoes, diced
• 6 whole cloves
• 3 whole Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp Caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, grated
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder (for color)
• 3 Thai Bird chili peppers, stem removed, chopped
• 1/4 cup of craisins
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 5 tbsp clarified butter
• 2 1/2 cups of Basmati rice
• large pot of boiling water
• salt

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, it is, but everything is well worth it in making this dish. So, lets begin by marinating the chicken, for at least 8 hours. To do this, combine one tablespoon of the garlic paste, and the ginger paste, the cup of yogurt, a pinch of salt, and the cubed chicken pieces. Seal in a plastic bag, giving it a good massage, and place in the refrigerator.

During this time, gather the rest of your ingredients, feeling free to slice, dice, and measure. There is nothing wrong with being prepared.

When you are ready to get this dish moving along, do the following:

Get a large skillet heated on the stove, along with a large pot of water, but lets not heat the water. Add the 1/4 cup of the oil into the skillet, and bring it to a medium-high heat. Add in all of the sliced onions, and lower the heat to medium. Give a nice stir, and let the onions begin to brown.

While the onions are cooking, add the rice to the pot of water, along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, and caraway seeds, along with about a teaspoon of salt. Give a good stir, and let the rice take on some of the flavor. Let the rice soak for about 30 minutes. Continue cooking the onions.

The onion process is going to take you about 25-35 minutes, keeping in mind that you want to stir, and stir frequently. The goal is to get the onions to caramelize, but at the same time get a certain crisp to them. When the onions have maintained this state, remove them from the skillet and place them on a paper lined plate, spreading them out, allowing them to drain, and crisp up a bit. Reserve the skillet for making the chicken mixture.

Strain the rice. Add a lot of water back to the large pot, and bring this to a boil. Salt the water, and place the strained rice, along with the other items we placed such as the cinnamon stick, etc, back into the boiling water, and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the rice is just slightly cooked through. The goal with this is to not overcook the rice, as we are going to layer the rice, along with the other items, and continue cooking the rice on very low heat. Once the rice has boiled for about 6 minutes, strain, and lay into a large dish, spreading out, and fanning if possible, to quickly cool.

As the rice cools, prepare the chicken mixture.

Take the same skillet you used to cook the onions, and add a few tablespoons of additional oil, bringing it to a medium-high heat.

Toss in two cloves, and the bay leaves, and let the sizzle for a minute. Next toss in the additional garlic and ginger paste, giving a quick stir. This process you want to go pretty quickly, almost like stir frying. Toss in the diced Thai chilies, and the chicken, with about half of the marinade. Give a good stir, and let the mixture reduce down. Once it reduces, add in the remaining dry spices, the craisins, as well as the tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir, and reduce down again. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks from the mixtures.

Now we are ready to layer the chicken biryani. To a large and heavy pot, I like to use my dutch oven for this one, add in about half of the clarified butter, swirling along the bottom, and sides of the pot.

To the bottom of the pot, add in a nice layer of the semi-cooked basmati rice. Next add a layer of the chicken mixture. Top that with some of the cilantro and fried onions. Repeat this process, eyeballing how much you have of each layer, until you have the last layer being the rice. Drizzle with the remaining butter, along the top, and on around the sides.

Cover the entire top of the pot with aluminum foil before placing the cover on top. The goal here is to not let any steam escape during the next slow cooking process.

So, to the stove, add the large pot and cook over very low heat for approximately 40-50 minutes. Once that time is up, remove from the burner, and let it rest for about 15 minutes before uncovering.

Prepare yourself. Remove the cover, and the foil, and as stated, prepare yourself for your house to be smelling so delicious. You get cinnamon off the bat, plus the clove, then the garlic and ginger. I am not kidding when I say that this simple dish is one that  you can keep out on a Sunday afternoon as your family will keep coming back for more.

Every bite is packed with great textures, and one where the aroma just hits your nose. The smell before eat bite is really divine. Enjoy.

It was not too long ago where I was contacted by a marketing firm to see if I was interested in marketing some product by a ranch in Texas. After doing my research, I was more than happy to sample some really fantastic product by Branch Ranch. I had a handful of ideas to use their delicious cuts of meat, and in particular, a great Filipino dish that I know everyone would enjoy, and especially my wife.

The Filipino dish is called giniling. Don’t let the name intimidate you. Consider giniling as being ground beef mixed with a handful of vegetables and spices that is served on top a bed of rice. Giniling is one of those dishes my wife loved when growing up. It was one of those dishes that once served, would be left out on the stove for her siblings to return to as a snack throughout the day. I will admit, I did the same, and this is a dish that is hearty, and full of great flavor, and is definitely worth returning to throughout the day, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of premium ground beef (I used, and recommend Branch Ranch Ground Beef)
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large roma tomato, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 large potato, peeled, and cubed
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Cooked rice

Begin by adding your potatoes to a pot of water, bring to a boil, and set aside for about 5-10 minutes. During this time, brown your ground beef, and once fully browned, drain any access fat. Place the ground beef in a large bowl.

To the same pot you cooked your ground beef in, add in the oil and bring to a medium heat. Toss in your carrots, cooking for about 5 minutes. Next add in your onion and your garlic. Give a good stir, and continue to cook for a few minutes or until the onions become translucent. Drain your potatoes, and toss those into the pot along with the bell peppers, tomato, and the peas. Add in your cooked ground beef, the fish sauce, the soy sauce, and the cracked black pepper. Give this a good stir, cooking for a couple of more minutes.

To serve, scoop some rice into the bottom of a small bowl, pressing down to form a mold. Quickly turn the bowl over onto a serving plate and top with the giniling.

This Filipino ground beef dish is a must try. It packs some really great flavor from the array of vegetables alongside the taste of the fish sauce. This dish is great any time of the day, and is one of my favorites to be used at breakfast time. I hope you enjoy.

When I decided to create the recipe, I reflected on a restaurant that is no longer in business in Milwaukee, but was known for their mac and cheese. You know it’s a good mac and cheese if people are talking about it right? Well, The Social had a goat cheese mac and cheese, and so I decided that would be one of the cheeses I put into this recipe.
Enough teasing with the cheeses, let’s just get started.
Ingredients:

• 1 lb cavatappi pasta, cooked al dente
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 4 cups of whole milk
• 5 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 large shallot, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 2 cups of gruyere cheese, grated
• 3 cups of colby cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Begin by cooking your pasta, roughly 8 minutes in salted boiling water. During this time, add the milk, garlic, thyme, and shallot to a sauce pan, and cook on a medium to low heat. To a dutch oven, or large pot, melt the butter on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add in your flour, and continue to mix for a few minutes, until you have a nice golden brown color. Now is the time to add in the milk mixture, slowly, and continue to whisk. You will notice that you are basically making the beginning of the sauce for your mac and cheese. Take half of each cheese, and add to the mixture, slowly melting the cheeses. Toss in the salt and pepper. Add in the cooked pasta, and mix well. Now you have choices.

If you are cooking this in a dutch oven, then top with the remaining cheeses, otherwise, pour the mac and cheese mixture into a large casserole dish, top with the remaining cheese, and place in the oven, uncovered, for roughly 30 minutes. You know it is done with the cheese on the top is bubbling and has a nice golden finish. Remove from the oven, and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes before digging in. Each bite yields huge cheesy flavor with just the right amount of garlic and pepper. It’s a showstopper at the dinner table and makes great for leftovers.

You might have seen my scalloped potatoes recipe before, and obviously this recipe is similar to that, but packed with a few extra goodies. This takes a bit of prep work, but well worth it, and is a perfect side dish to a holiday dinner.

Ingredients:

• 5 whole yukon gold potatoes, cleaned, and sliced very thin
• 10 slices of good bacon, cooked and crumbled, bacon grease reserved
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• splash of worcestershire sauce
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp salt, pinches for each layer
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, pinches for each layer
• 1/2 cup of roasted red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup of half and half
• 1 cup of Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 shaved parmesan cheese
• 4 sandwich size slices of colby jack
• pinch of red chili flakes
• cooking spray

Begin preparing all of your ingredients. Slowly cook the bacon. Once the bacon is cooked, remove from the pan, let them drain on some paper towel, then crumble. Next, toss your onions into a bacon skillet with the butter and continue to cook on medium heat, cooking for nearly 35-40 minutes. Be careful not to burn the onions, so stir every 5 minutes or so. Towards the end, toss in the garlic, and the worcestershire sauce. Mix well.

During this time, slice your potatoes really thin. Spray a bit of cooking spray on your baking dish, or gratin pan if you have something of that sort. Get your cheeses ready as well.

Once the onions are caramelized, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Now is the time to begin layering your gratin. Add a layer of potatoes to the bottom of the pan, season with a bit of salt and pepper, then top with some of the crumbled bacon, the monterey jack and parmesan cheeses, some of the caramelized onions, as well as some of the roasted bell pepper. Repeat this process two more times. Pour the half and half around the perimeter of the dish, shower the top with the green onions, then top with the colby jack cheese, and sprinkle a pinch of red pepper flakes on top. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

After the 40 minutes, remove the foil, and cook for another 40 minutes, uncovered. This will help get things nice and golden and melt the cheeses in all of the right places, building up another layer of flavor.

Remove, and let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into it.

This caramelized onion and bacon gratin knocks it out of the park. Really rich, and really comforting, this is a great side for any meal. Hope you enjoy.

One food item that stood out the morning we were departing was a store bought quiche that was brought over from the folks at the other lodge. The families staying in our lodge was up early due to the seven kids that decided to wake up early that morning. We had already taken on blueberry pancakes, sausages, omelets, and a Racine kringle. We had built out appetite up as we were doing some serious hiking in the state park, but after the hike, we were coming back to the lodge to have a late lunch, and attempt to finish up the leftovers from the previous night.

As families began to depart, our lodge was left with plenty of food for lunch which included pansit, lasagna, and that quiche. I mention the quiche because as we were driving back home that afternoon, my wife had mentioned that she really wished she could have tried that quiche. I never knew she loved quiche, and felt sorry for her, so much that the following day, I made her a quiche; a quiche so amazingly good that she ate it for dinner that night, and for breakfast and lunch the following day. You know it’s good when that occurs!

What I love about a quiche is that you can make it your own. Granted, there are some standard techniques like baking the pie crust and letting it cool before adding your egg and milk mixture along with your secret ingredients, but it is those secret ingredients that make a quiche shine. As my wife was disappointed she did not get to try a standard spinach and cheese quiche, she was not disappointed when she found some wonderful surprises inside of my quiche.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust
• 1 yukon gold potato, peeled, and cut into cubes
• 1 leek, cleaned, and finely sliced
• 3 cremini mushrooms, cleaned and diced
• 1/4 cup of roasted red bell peppers, diced
• 1 cup of quesadilla cheese, or good melting white cheese such as Swiss or Fontina
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and bake the pie crust for about 14 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Remove and let it cool. During this time, boil your potatoes for about 7 minutes. You do not want them fully cooked, but cooked more than halfway through. Drain, and let cool.

Add the olive oil to a preheated saute pan, and add the leeks, and mushrooms. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring from time to time. To a bowl, add the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard powder. Beat, and beat well.

To the pie crust, layer half of the quesadilla cheese, add the potatoes, leek and mushrooms, and sprinkle with the roasted bell peppers. Pour in the egg mixture, top with the remaining cheese, and place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the center is fully cooked.

Remove and let cool for about 1o minutes before slicing into it.

This particular quiche was a comforting one. The cheese blended so well into the crust, and the combination of vegetables made this super delicious. I hope you enjoy.

As the Wisconsin heat has been pretty darn horrible lately, and only to throw in the mosquitoes, it has not been fun to hang outside lately. The thing we love to do this time of year is to grill and have a cool drink after a long day of work, but us Wisconsinites are screwed. Everyone I have talked to lately is in the same boat. We do not want to go outside our house, because ultimately, you are attacked by mosquitoes, and are sitting in your own sweat. But there are those potatoes, wrapped in foil, and placed on the grill, remember?

Well, I had enough, and I could not go outside. It was just too hot, but I wanted that foil, crusted potato, and so I had to do it my way. A pickup of the standard, old school taters, and seasoned a bit differently, and honestly, a bit more delicious.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium yellow onion (approximately one cup), chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 medium red new potatoes, cleaned, and cut into cubes
• 1 tsp salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Parmesan cheese

Bring your oven up to 350 degrees.

Get a medium skillet going on medium heat, and then add your oil. Let it come to a nice temperature, then toss in your onion and garlic and cook until soft.

Add your cubed potatoes to a large bowl. Once the onions and garlic is cooked, add that entire skillet mixture to the bowl of potatoes, and mix well. Add the chili powder, and salt and pepper, and mix well. Add the bowl mixture to a casserole dish and place in the preheated oven, cooking for nearly 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown, and the edges are a bit crisp.

Remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and fresh cilantro and serve into your serving dishes, or lay out the dish family style.

An updated twist on the classic potato dish allows you to accomplish this indoors without getting bit my ‘sqeeters’ and enjoy a great, classic grilled dish. Leftovers on this one will really make a killer breakfast hash as well. Enjoy.

But remember, soon, without mosquitoes and humid weather, you can place of this goodness in a foiled compartment and place on the grill.

This dish is a bit exotic, as  its color, its aroma, and its flavor really draws you in and makes you feel great, all around. I am certain everyone has their own take on chicken tikka masala, as you often see the colors a bit lighter, or darker, and probably a using a few different ingredients. My favorite way of making this dish is using a handful of standard ingredients, and some basic Indian spices. The sauce alone is something phenomenal, and can hold its own with a nice bowl of rice. Enough said. I am getting excited just thinking about it, and wishing I had more!

Ingredients for the chicken marinade:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chickent breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, mashed into a paste
• 1/2 head of garlic, mashed into a paste
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• Juice and zest of one lime

Combine all of the ingredients with the exception of the chicken, and mix well. Add in the chicken, mix well, cover and place in the refrigerator over night, or at least 4 hours.

Next is to move on and make what I call the gravy.

Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of canola oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 serrano chili peppers, seeds and rib removed, diced
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp tumeric powder
• salt, to taste
• Cooked Basmati rice
• 1 cup of peas (mix into cooked basmati rice)

Begin by lining a baking sheet with aluminum foil, preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and lay out the chicken cubes onto the sheet. Cook until the edges of your chicken begin to brown, roughly 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven.

To make your gravy, heat up a large pot, and add in the oil. Bring to a nice medium, high heat. Add in the onions, cooking them for about 20 minutes, or until they have began to caramelize and turn a nice dark color. Reduce the heat to medium low, during this process.

Bring the heat back up to a medium, and add in the garlic, tomatoes, serrano chilis, and tomato paste, giving a nice stir. Add in the cinnamon, garam masala, cumin, and tumeric. Watch how the tumeric changes the color of the dish. This is where the vibrant yellow comes into play. Now, add in your cream, and give a nice stir. Add in your chicken, cover, and cook on very low heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring on occasion.

When you are ready to plate, take your basmati rice and peas and place as the base of your dish. Generously scoop the gravy and bits of chicken on the top of the rice. Sprinkle some fresh cilantro leaves on the top.  Stick your nose close to the dish and enjoy the smell. Repeat with the nose. Dig in.

I hope you enjoy this really tasteful dish.

So as I looked at this thing of beauty, my first thought was what I was going to make in it. I wanted something low and slow, and as I knew we were hosting a lunch for family on Memorial Day, I already knew I was making pulled pork. I had it! A killer pot of baked beans done southwestern style.

The beans were so delicious with just a bit of heat from the jalapenos, and the great balance of sweetness really made this a home run in my book. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, diced
• 8 slices of thick bacon, cut into squares and cooked, reserve about 2 tbsp of bacon grease
• 3 28oz cans of Bush’s Baked Beans
• 1 cup of your favorite bbq sauce, or make your own
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp of your favorite hot sauce
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• ham hock, optional
• red onion, diced

Begin by heating up your large pot, or in my lucky case, the dutch oven, on medium heat. Once heated, add in the cut up bacon pieces, and toss. Cook, low and slow until nice and crisp. During this time, prep your veggies and garlic. When the bacon is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and place on some paper towel to let any extra grease drain.

Remove all but a couple of tablespoons of the bacon grease. Add in the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapeno, and cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, stirring from time to time, making sure you use your wooden spoon to scrape any of those great brown bits from the bottom. Add in the beans, brown sugar, molasses, hot sauce, dijon mustard, as well as the barbecue sauce. Mix well, and reduce the heat to low. Add in the ham hock if you have one. I always save one from Easter time, either for a dish like dish or split pea soup, and it adds great flavor, and a bit more texture.

Top with the crumbled bacon. Cover, and preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Use your hot pads and lift this lovely mass into the oven, to cook for two and a half hours. Remember, this is a low and slow kind of meal, especially if you are going to make pulled pork sandwiches.

After cooking, remove it from the oven, and place on the stove. Serve family style, or have them serve themselves, topping with a bit of the fresh red onion for extra texture and crunch.

These beans remind me of why we enjoy summer, family, and really great food. I hope you enjoy.