Vegetarian Baked Beans (still full of flavor!)

We are in the middle of a fantastic grill season and I simply love these beans as an accompaniment to anything that comes off of the grill – especially a hamburger! This recipe that I came up with happens to be a pork-free variation, but I would definitely throw some bacon in with the onions when I saute them if I had it on hand! These are very easy!

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cups cooked beans (white, northern, pinto) (for instructions on cooking beans click here)
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup organic ketchup
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• sprinkle (or more) of sucanat (or brown sugar)

Saute the onions in the butter until translucent (about 5 minutes) in a skillet (I use my cast iron). Add the beans and mix to get them all coated in the butter and onions. Add all remaining ingredients except for sucanat (or brown sugar) and stir well to combine. Heat over low heat while everything else for dinner is cooking (longer is better for more flavor). Add the sucanat (or brown sugar) just before pulling off of the heat. They taste fabulous the next day too!

 This post is shared at Real Food Wednesday and Homemaking Link Up and Simple Lives Thursday and Pennywise Platter and Fight Back Friday, Monday Mania

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Anita’s Baby Back Ribs

These ribs are very easy and soooo delicious! Great for guests or for your family (they taste great all week long!).

Sauce:  

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp Vietnamese chili sauce (aka Sambala)

dash of Worcestershire sauce (I use Lea & Perrins)

dash of red wine vinegar

dash of plain old yellow mustard

Stir all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.  The “heat” from the chili sauce will intensify as the mixture sits.  You can adjust the ingredients to suit your own personal taste. While it sits, start on the ribs.

You will need approximately 4 pounds pork baby back ribs and cut them into serving-size pieces, usually 4 ribs each.  Place them in a large roasting pan, fat side up, and season them with salt, pepper and minced garlic.  Pour about 1 cup of diluted sauce (50/50 sauce to water) into the bottom of the pan.  Cover with either parchment paper or wax paper and then aluminum foil over that.  (The reason for the wax paper is to keep the sauce from “reacting” to the foil).  Bake at 325 degrees for an hour and a half.  Remove from oven and either pour off or siphon off the liquid and rendered fat.  Brush the non-diluted sauce over the ribs, return the cover and return the pan to the oven for another hour. Remove the cover for the last 20 minutes of cooking in order to caramelize the sauce! (I then brush more sauce on them as I put them on a platter).

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