Kelly’s Calico Beans

I remember when she was born; it took a while to receive mail back then.  The letter announcing her arrival reached us a good week after the fact. 

She was born a month and 4 days after Bill and I married, while we were living in Oberheid, Germany when Bill was serving in the Army. 

She's Bill's niece, Kelly...
 

Kelly, almost 4

Calico beans is her specialty, this is her recipe. 

Baked beans are the best, especially in the summertime with meat from the grill.  This recipe calls for 4 types of beans:  1 can each of Great Northern, butter and kidney beans, plus 2 cans of pork ‘n beans. 

Use whatever beans you prefer.  I swapped Pinto beans and mayocoba beans for the butter beans and kidney beans. The ivory-yellow mayacoba beans are a meaty bean with a mild-flavored buttery taste.

Browned ground beef is added also, ending up with a delicious side dish for your family or a crowd.  They go quickly and that can be good but, bad too because they are just as delicious left-over! 

Calico Beans

Ingredients:

½-1 pound bacon

1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cans (16 ounces) pork ‘n beans

1 can (16 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (16 ounces) mayocoba beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (16 ounces) Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

½ to ¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup ketchup

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

Method:

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain well and crumble into large pieces.

In the same skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink; drain.

Combine the beef mixture, bacon, beans, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar and mustard.

Spoon into a greased 2-qt. baking dish or slow cooker.

Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 45-60 minutes or until the beans are as thick as desired.

Or, cook for 4-5 hours on low in slow cooker.

About 12 servings

Enjoy!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes.  She’s having a Double Giveaway now!

White Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage and Spinach

I swoon over white bean soup and this recipe for it is fantastic!

I swoon over white bean soup and this recipe for it is fantastic! Bean soup was at the top of the list of my favorite meals when I was young and still is today.  When I was a kid, I loved to be at Grandma’s for Saturday supper since she served bean soup; generally with a ham bone, every Saturday evening year round ~ along with cornbread and iced sweet tea.

Sometimes, I like bean soup jazzed up and spicy.  So, this time I cooked it with andouille sausage.  Bill bought links of it at our great Italian meat market the other day and it has been driving me crazy; smelling the aromatic flavors every time I opened the refrigerator so I could hardly wait to cook it in this soup.  The rich spicy flavor of the sausage is Cajun all the way and a great addition to the beans.  And since I like spinach almost as much as Popeye does, I included a whole bag of it in the soup. 

It’s a tasty soup for supper any evening, plus the dried beans are a great source of protein and easy on your food budget also. Cooking it in a slow cooker makes it so easy with not having to stir it periodically.   And of course, bean soup demands fresh baked corn bread ~ a perfect meal in my way of thinking.  The bean soup is possibly even better the next day!

White Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage and Spinach

Ingredients:

1 pound dried great northern beans

½ pound andouille sausage links, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced thin

½ teaspoon dried thyme

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

9 ounces fresh spinach, roughly torn

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In 6 quart slow cooker, combine the beans, sausage, onion, carrots and thyme.

Add broth and stir to combine.

Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Skim fat off top.

Before serving, add the spinach leaves and cover.

Cook until the spinach is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Add the vinegar and salt and pepper.

Serves 6

If you are a white bean soup fanatic like me, you will love this soup.  It is absolutely perfectly delicious, I am not kidding!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!