Deviled Baked Beans

I grew up with a Father that loved the foods from his childhood - mostly Pennsylvania Dutch foods and a Mother who didn't want to cook them - she only cooked Chinese food and she was very good at it. As I was a Daddy's girl, I learned fairly early those foods to make him happy. One of the earliest ones I learned was Deviled Baked Beans. He actually taught me how to make it but there was one important difference from the kind he grew up with. My Grandmother would make Baked Beans from scratch, using dried Navy Beans or Lima Beans that would first soak and then later be cooked for hours and then put into a sweet and sour sauce that included molasses and then baked. 

So this became the compromise and has that lovely sweet and sour taste that the Pennsylvania Dutch love. I think my father found this recipe in the Los Angeles Times Cooking Section, but I really don't know where it came from exactly and it was a very long time ago. For some reason, I also memorized it!  I still cook these Baked Beans in my father's favorite Corning Ware baking dish and it makes me nostalgic every time I make it as it reminds me of him.  He loved this dish and so do I.  It's such an easy recipe and so tasty!  It is a great side dish for a barbecue and according to several of my English friends, it's quite good leftover and put on toast as they have done that when they've stayed over but that's something I haven't tried yet!

Deviled Baked Beans

2 slices thick sliced Bacon or 4 - 5 thin slices

1 16 oz can Baked Beans (I used Bush's)

1/4 cup minced Onion

1/4 cup minced Green Pepper

2 Tablespoons Ketchup

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook in a frying pan until the fat is rendered and the bacon pieces are crispy. Remove the bacon pieces from the fat and reserve. Add int he Onions and Green Pepper and cook until the Onions are soft.  Pour in the can of Baked Beans and then add int he Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce and Yellow Mustard. Bring to a boil and then pour into a baking dish. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges look a little dried out. Sprinkle with the Bacon Crumbles and serve.

Five Element Analysis

Beans belong to the Water Element and so does the Bacon and the Worcestershire Sauce, so this is a very Watery dish!  The Green Pepper contributes a bit of the Fire Element and the Ketchup adds even more. There's quite a bit of Brown Sugar in the canned Baked Beans so that brings in the Earth Element. And, finally the Metal Element is represented by the Onion and Mustard. Only the Wood Element is missing so be sure to serve this dish alongside some green vegetables or BBQ chicken or both to create a Five Element balance.