Boston Baked Beans Brennan

Cookbook Recipe #61

I got this cookbook while Phil and I were on a trip to Vegas. We decided to take a day trip to go see the Grand Canyon as neither of us had ever been there. We took a tour bus there as we did not have a car on the trip and on the way they stopped at a restaurant and gift shop for a lunch. In the gift shop they had this cookbook. I always like to try to find a cookbook while I am on vacation as I like to bring home some of the local flavors. I thought this book was perfect for the west. It is chalk full of home cooked cowboy favorites and stories of the wild west.

My Dad and brother Daniel were visiting last weekend and I decided to make a ham and wanted a fun side to go with it. I knew we did not have plans for Sunday so I thought I would finally be able to make from scratch baked beans. They take a long time in the oven so it is hard to do unless you are home all day. They were super easy to make and came out great. I made some additions to the recipe as I like my beans sweet. I added some ketchup and brown sugar. I would probably add even more next time as I would have liked them a little sweeter. Sorry for the picture, I completely forgot to take the picture while they were still in the pot so I had to take leftovers to take this pic.

Boston Baked Beans Brennan
Adapted from The All American Cowboy Cookbook

1 pound dry Great Northern Beans, soaked overnight
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cook beans in water with baking soda for 10 minutes over medium low heat. Drain and rinse.

In a large dutch oven mix beans, bacon, molasses, mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Add enough water to barely cover the beans. Bake for 6 hours.

Checking every hour or 2 and adding more water if necessary.

With one hour remaining add the brown sugar and ketchup. Mix well and finish baking.

Sort of Hoppin' John

In the south it is a tradition to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day for good luck the rest of the year. We ate ours a day early. I have never had black eyed peas before and always thought they would not be good because I thought they looked funny. I feel like I have been saying that a lot lately! Just means I am getting more adventurous in my eating and cooking. Still no onions or seafood though. All in one week I added split pea soup, black eyed peas and biscuits and gravy to my like list. That's pretty good for me considering only a few short years ago I wouldn't think about trying anything I did not think I could possibly like.

I called this sort of hoppin' john because a traditional hoppin' john has bacon and onion in it. The recipe that I used I got from Plain Chicken. I liked the recipe because it was made in the slow cooker. Also it used ham, which I thought would be nice with the black eyed peas. I did add celery salt and garlic powder to the original recipe to add a touch more flavor. Overall it came out alright. Not my favorite recipe to date. Hopefully, even though we ate it a day early it will bring us some luck in the New Year anyway!

Sort of Hoppin' John
Adapted from Plain Chicken

1 pound dried black eyed peas
8 ounces diced ham
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Rinse black eyed peas and put in crock pot. Add all ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

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This recipe is linked on: Mix it Up Mondays, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, On the Menu Monday,  Makin You Crave Monday, Your Creative Time Out