The Best Baked Beans...Ever

I've always had trouble making good baked beans...they were too soupy, too dry, too ketchup-y, etc.  Then along came Pioneer Woman, and my search for the perfect baked bean recipe was over.

The Best Baked Beans...Ever

4 slices bacon, halved

1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)

3 (15 oz.) cans Van Camp's Pork and Beans, undrained

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. BBQ sauce

1/4 cup light brown sugar (more or less to taste)

1/8 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp. dry mustard

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position, and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Fry bacon in a large, deep saute pan (I use a 5 qt. saute pan) on medium heat until partially cooked and until it has released about 1/8 cup grease.  Remove bacon from pan, and drain on paper towels.  Pour grease into a glass measuring cup, wipe out the saute pan with paper towels, and then pour a little less than 1/8 cup grease back into the saute pan.  Add onion, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer.

Pour beans into an 8x8 baker sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with bacon, and bake at 325 degrees for about an hour and a half or until beans are the desired consistency.  Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

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Note:  This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13 baker.  Click on the link below for ingredient amounts and baking time:

*Recipe adapted from tastykitchen.com:  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/sidedishes/quick-southern-style-baked-beans/

Sausage Cream Cheese Croissants

Sausage Cream Cheese Croissants are perfect for breakfast or brunch!  Flaky crescent rolls are filled with a sausage/cream cheese filling to create a delectable morning treat.

Sausage Cream Cheese Croissants

1/2 pound sausage

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

2 (12 oz.) Grands Big & Flaky Crescent Rolls (8 rolls per can)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown and drain sausage.  In a mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the sausage.  Mix well.  Open crescent rolls and unroll dough; separate into triangles.  

Place one heaping tablespoon of filling onto each triangle at the widest end, and roll up starting at the widest end toward the point.  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray; curve each into a crescent shape.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Yield:  approximately 12 croissants

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Note:  You will not use all the crescent rolls.  I usually have four left over, and I just go ahead and bake them along with the croissants.  I then freeze them to have later with a meal.

Scrambled eggs and fruit salad are delicious with these croissants, and I have the ideal fruit salad recipe!  

Easy Fruit Salad:  http://easyaspiecanbe.blogspot.com/2015/07/easy-fruit-salad.html