from Kris B.

Cider Baked Beans

I am a big fan of beans…almost any kind of beans.  Unfortunately, my husband is not.  If you know anything about homemade bean recipes, they almost always make A LOT of beans.  I ask a believer in black-eyed peas on New Years  day.  My preferred way to eat them is in Hoppin’ John.  Rather than try to cut down the recipe, I made the full version, which called for a pound of black-eyed peas…and I ate Hoppin’ John every day for the first week of the year!  Based on this, I should be quite prosperous in 2019!

Three weeks later, I am now ready for more beans.  I was intrigued by Bountiful Pantry’s Cider Baked Beans, which are sold by King Arthur Flour.  Half of the liquid used to cook the beans is apple cider.  In addition, one to two pounds of diced green apples are also added.

The mix comes with the beans and a seasoning packet.  To this, you add apple cider, broth of your choice, (I used vegetable.), and ketchup.  The mix offers stove top, oven, and slow cooker instructions.  Because I am now back at work and don’t have as much time to cook, I took the lazy way out…I threw the mix and all the other required ingredients into the Crock-Pot in the morning before I left for work, set it to cook on low for 10 hours, and didn’t think anymore about them until I got home that evening and smelled their deliciousness.

The “sauce” is not as thick as that of canned baked beans, but don’t let that disappoint you.  The flavor is amazing.  I’ll admit that I was a little worried about the beans being too sweet because of the apples and the cider, but they are not.  They are perfect blend of sweet and savory!

The package instructions suggest adding either bacon or sausage to the pot while the beans are cooking, which I did not do.  I did, however, slice a little bit of uncured turkey kielbasa into my bowl of beans once they were cooked, making them a meal rather than just a side of beans.  Since the kielbasa is fully cooked, this makes it easy to adapt the mix to both vegetarians and carnivores.

As tasty as these beans are, I was not keen on another whole week of bean eating, so I froze several small containers of leftovers.  Hopefully they will be just as good when defrosted and reheated!

If you make the Cider Baked Beans in a slow cooker, they take time, but no real energy on your part.  If you need them to be done a bit quicker, I have no doubt that the stove top and oven method will yield equally delicious beans.  

This mix is really good as is, but those of you who like to be creative in the kitchen can probably add a few secret ingredients to make them your own.

from Tracey G.

Frontier Soups Montana Classic Chili Mix from King Arthur Flour

I love trying the soup mixes from King Arthur Flour, because I’ve not been disappointed yet! Around this household, they wouldn’t be enough for a dinner for 3, but for us, they make a perfect lunch!

I was really anxious to try this particular mix, because chili is a popular dish around here, and it would be fun to have one that would make something a little different than I could, and easily. This soup mix fit the bill – it was easy and none of it went to waste! Plus I served it with some cornbread muffins and it was a perfect meal!

The items you add are simple: 1 tbsp vegetable oil, ground beef (although that is optional!), can of petite diced tomatoes, 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, 2 tsp of sugar and 12 oz of beef broth. I even deviated away from the petite diced tomatoes because I’m the only on around here who likes them, so I just used a can of tomato sauce – and it worked just fine.

It comes together easily, brown the ground beef if you’re using it, in the tablespoon of oil. Next you add the mix, combine it with the meat and cook for about 30 seconds. At this point you add in the rest of the ingredients, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Now all that’s left to do it eat it – dish it out and dig in! And it tastes even better the next day, as I can personally attest to!

If you’re looking for a chili mix for a little something different in your routine – this is a great one. I will admit,  spicy, but in my opinion it’s just enough!

 

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