You Asked For It: Two bean recipes: one slow, one fast

By ANNE LONG
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 16, 2002

L.G. DuPont writes that this baked bean recipe prepared in a slow cooker is a Good Housekeeping recipe and is "super delicious." You will have to do some planning ahead, but once the ingredients are in the slow cooker, they can be forgotten.

This recipe includes essentially the same ingredients as the one that follows, with the exception of the addition of a small amount of ground cloves. Sometimes it takes just a pinch of this or that to add depth to a recipe.

If there is no "plan ahead" time, start with two cans of pork and beans, add minced onion, ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard and bacon. Spoon the mixture into a casserole and bake for a couple of hours.

Sandwiches made with loose meat are popular fare in the Midwest. Janet Kuhl wanted to know how to make them, and Susan Edwards shares two recipes that she clipped from the Chicago Sun-Times food section in 1988. The first recipe is made with ground beef, and the second is made with ground turkey.

Heap on hamburger buns and enjoy.

For: Arlene Siems of St. Petersburg
From: L.G. DuPont of Ocala
Recipe: Boston Baked Beans, Slow-Cooker Style, a Good Housekeeping recipe.

Boston Baked Beans, Slow-Cooker Style

• 1 pound dry small white beans
• Water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 slices bacon (about 3 ounces), chopped
• 1/4 cup light (mild) molasses
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Rinse beans with cold running water and discard any stones or shriveled beans. In large bowl, place beans and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. (Or, in a 6-quart sauce pot, place beans and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Heat to boiling over high heat; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour.) Drain and rinse beans.

In 41/2- to 51/2-quart slow-cooker pot, stir 31/2 cups water with beans and remaining ingredients except salt until blended.

Cover slow-cooker with lid and cook beans on low setting as manufacturer directs, about 14 hours or until beans are tender and sauce is syrupy. Stir salt into bean mixture before serving. Makes about 7 cups or 10 accompaniment servings.

Each serving: About 285 calories, 12 gm protein, 39 gm carbohydrate, 9 gm total fat (3 gm saturated), 7 gm fiber, 10 mg cholesterol, 475 mg sodium.

L.G. DuPont adds that the beans can use about 15 hours of cooking and that this is one of the best bean recipes ever.

From: Nancy Eggert of Dunedin
Recipe: Baked Beans, a family recipe.

Baked Beans

• 2 16-ounce cans pork and beans
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 4 to 6 slices lean bacon, chopped

Combine ingredients and spoon into a casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 21/2 hours. Stir occasionally.

For: Jane Kuhl of Largo
From: Susan Edwards of Seminole
Recipes: Maid-Rite Sandwiches I and II, from the Chicago Sun-Times in 1988.

Maid-Rite Sandwiches I

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup water
• Hamburger buns

Brown ground beef in large skillet. Pour off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender and sauce is thick, about 30 to 45 minutes. Heap mixture onto hamburger buns. Serves 6 to 8.

Maid-Rite Sandwiches II

• 1 pound ground turkey or ground beef
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 3 tablespoons pickle relish
• Hamburger buns

Brown ground turkey or beef, onion and bay leaves together in skillet over low heat. Add salt and pepper. Drain fat. Remove bay leaves. In a small bowl, mix together mustard and pickle relish. Spread mustard mixture generously on both sides of 4 hamburger buns. Spoon meat onto buns. Serves 3 to 4.

Recipe requests

When Dahleen Bache of Pass-a-Grille was in Greece and Turkey, she enjoyed stuffed eggplants that were cut in half and filled with a mixture of ground meat, rice, eggplant and herbs and spices that she couldn't identify. The eggplants were small, about 5 inches long. The stuffed eggplants were often served with a light, fresh tomato sauce. Dahleen has tried to duplicate this delicious dish, but has not been successful. Can you help her?

The Kapok Tree Restaurant has been gone for many years, but Connie White of Dunnellon has not forgotten the outstanding planter's punch that was a popular drink there. The recipe was even featured on their placemats. The problem is that Connie has lost the recipe. Do you have this one?

Sue Pendleton of Oldsmar would like to have a recipe for Vidalia onion relish. She wants one with canning instructions so she can put some by to enjoy during the year.

- You Asked for It is a reader mail column. If you have a cooking question or the answer to someone else's question, write to: You Asked for It, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Be sure to include your full name, city and phone number with your letter. Letters without this information will be discarded. Requests cannot be answered by phone or mail.

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