Baked Beans with a KICK

 I have a little quiet time.

Alone time.

Silence time.

Hear a clock ticking time.

Concentrating time.

Focus time.

Can you tell I enjoy the quiet time I get sometimes?

That is much needed for a blogger.

Let me show you what we have been up to in the kitchen.

I don't understand why someone would buy already assembled canned baked beans

when these are so easy to make in your own kitchen.

We had some frozen trimmed pork butt that we saved from when we made homemade Carnitas.

And the Carnitas is a whole nother recipe to share with you. 

Once we find the spice mixture we like the best, we will share the recipe with you. 

We have made Carnitas over and over, and we just aren't happy with the outcome.

Maybe it's because our local Mexican Restaurant has us spoiled?

But anyway,

I used the meaty pieces of the frozen pork but pieces.

And just so you know, yes, I save everything......

Chip crumbs,

Cookie crumbs,

Leftover spaghetti sauce,

and I even soak Great Northern Beans and freeze them in serving size bags.

Just a little of my grandmother and mother in me.....

 So, I cooked the bacon and pork butt pieces together until they were almost brown.

When they were almost brown I added the onion.

I cooked all that till the onion was translucent. 

 And just look at this pot of gold I found.

French's now makes crispy jalapenos.

Can you just imagine these on a grilled burger?

I can. 

I just know it will be amazing. 

These baked beans are so easy to make. 

And the timing is perfect for the up-coming summertime picnics.

You could probably skip the oven (baking) part and just throw everything in a crock pot.

How simple is that?

We served our Baked Beans with a KICK with smoked ham and seasoned greens.

The crispy jalapenos gave the baked beans an awesome flavor.

That is where the KICK comes from.

Now let me try and get this in recipe form for you:

Baked Beans with a KICK

1/2 pkg bacon, cut in pieces

leftover pork butt pieces (if I had to guess, maybe a cup worth)

1 onion, chopped

4 - 15 oz. cans pork & beans (I used organic)

1 c. BBQ sauce

1 c. ketchup

1/4 c. spicy brown mustard

1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c. brown sugar

French's Crispy Jalapenos (enough to sprinkle on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cut bacon in pieces and use meaty parts of trimmings from pork butt. Cook some of the bacon to sprinkle on top of beans before baking. I used a large skillet and small skillet. I cooked the topping bacon in the small skillet, and removed to drain on paper towels. In a large skillet cook bacon and pork butt pieces until almost brown. When it is almost brown add the chopped onion. Cook until onion is translucent. 

Meanwhile, combine the liquid ingredients in a small mixing bowl (mix). Add mixed liquid ingredients to the pork butt and bacon skillet (I did not drain the meats). Simmer for 5 minutes. Add canned pork and beans to a casserole dish (I used a 9X9), I also drained the top liquid off of each can of beans. Pour simmered sauce over beans. Top with reserved bacon. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle on French's Crispy Jalapenos and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Buzz and Mississippi Pot Roast

 So here I am once again missing my blog.

And I feel like I have let down my followers.

It is very hard to balance a full time job and blog work.

Just ask any blogger.....

I just deleted tons of food pictures that I have no recipe for.

I left them sit way too long.

 But anyway,

the buzz about this Mississippi Pot Roast sparked my interest.

It kept appearing in my Facebook feed,

and the curious person that I am,

I had to find out just how good this is.

There are a couple things I will do different the next time.

(and there will be a next time)

Don't get me wrong,

this roast lives up to all the buzz.

But I would do a longer cooking time,

and I would add more peppers.

I like my roast to fall apart when I blow on it. 

Yup, that tender.

The cooking time just wasn't long enough, tender enough for me.

This is the recipe I used to satisfy my curiosity:

Table for Two ~ Mississippi Pot Roast

Crescent Peach Danish

 Sometimes, as a blogger, we need to focus on our inspiration.

Today I want to focus on The Country Cook.

She has been an inspiration to me since I've started blogging (2008).

Brandie has been my go-to person when I am looking

for comfort foods, 

simple meals,

and simple ingredients.

Everything I have made from her blog has been excellent.

And when I was feeding three kids.....

Brandie's recipes were a God-send.

Take some time to look over her blog.

I guarantee you will love it. 

I served these Crescent Peach Danishes as a mid-morning brunch treat.

I didn't make any changes other than the pie filling choice

and I used French vanilla coffee creamer in my glaze.

I'm not going to type the recipe here,

I'm going to send you directly to Brandie.

Click here for recipe