Mrs. Cunningham"s Baked Beans

This is our families favorite recipe for baked beans.

1 medium can B&M baked beans

1 can red kidney beans, not drained 

1 small can lima beans, drained

⅓ lb ground beef, browned

½ lb bacon, cut up and fried

1 onion, cut up and sautéed

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup ketchup

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp prepared mustard

Mix together and bake at 350º uncovered, 40 min or until heated.

Remove from oven and let rest, covered, 15 minutes before serving.

Can bake longer for an old fashion taste.

The Updated Green Bean Casserole

So I'm personally not a fan of the typical green bean casserole, commonly served at Thanksgiving. But my family likes it, so I found this updated version. With a couple tweaks, and no mushroom soup, it was well received. French style green beans are so much better than fresh cut beans . . . more authentic and just tastes better. Also, I have one of those gadgets that cuts vegetables in various uniform sizes, so very small chop is easy . . . No chunks of anything.

10 slices bacon, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped very small

4 minced garlic cloves

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped

⅓ cup flour

½ cup chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt and Pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

2 oz (½ to ¾ cup) FRESH grated Parmesan cheese (not the canned sawdust)

3 cans French style green beans, drained well

1 can (or more) French's Crispy Fried Onions

In a large skillet, brown the chopped bacon. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the bacon grease. Cook down for 7-8 minutes. Sprinkle flour over them and stir well for 3 minutes. 

Slowly stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Season to taste with the garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper. Add just a small pinch of nutmeg. Turn the heat to low and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese until melted.

Add the bacon and drained green beans. Stir well and pour into a buttered 9x12" Pyrex baking dish. Bake @350 degrees, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Top with the crispy onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot out of the oven.

Calico Beans

I made this for a Packer Party in 2021. It's loaded with all the right things, and not too much sauce.

½ lb bacon

1 lb ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 (15 oz) can lima beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can butter beans

1 can great northern beans

1 can pork and beans

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup ketchup

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 Tbs vinegar

Fry bacon; drain off fat. Brown ground beef with the chopped onion. Set aside.

Drain all the beans except for the pork and beans. Mix together in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Stir in ground beef and bacon.

Pour into a large Pyrex baking dish and bake covered @300 for 2 hours. Stir before serving.

 

Green Bean Casserole (No Cream of Mushroom Soup)

I have not made a green bean casserole for Thanksgiving in years, because I don't much care for cream of mushroom soup. But I found this recipe and thought I would give it a chance. I omitted the nutmeg the recipe called for, as nutmeg has a limited use in my recipes and this wasn't one of them. My future grandson-in-law raved about it. So here it is, Michael, just for you.

½ lb bacon, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup half and half

½ t black pepper

¼ t nutmeg (I omitted this)

3 (15 oz) cans French style green beans, drained

1½  c French fried onions

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the diced bacon until crispy. Do not drain the grease.*

Stir in flour until dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté very lightly. You must not let it burn, which it does quickly. Pour in chicken broth, half and half, pepper, and nutmeg, if using. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Combine green beans and bacon mixture. Pour into a lightly buttered 9x13 Pyrex pan. 

Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Remove from oven and sprinkle with French fried onions over the top. Return to the oven for 5 minutes before serving.

*To reduce the amount of fat in this recipe, you can use just 2 Tbs of bacon grease, draining the rest.

Ultimate Green Bean Casserole

6 strips bacon

½ onion, finely diced

1½ cup chopped button mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans cream of mushroom condensed soup

¼ cup milk

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Salt and pepper

4 cans cut green beans, drained

1½  cups French fried onions

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Lightly spray a 13X9” baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium low heat until crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels, then crumble. Drain away all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease, and then return the pan to medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the undiluted mushroom soup and add the crumbled bacon back. Stir to combine. Stir in the milk and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the green beans until well combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Top with the fried onions. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the casserole is hot a bubbly.

Funeral Beans

There are so many good recipes for baked beans out there, and this is another one. I made these in the summer of 2012 while some of our friends from California were visiting us in our Wisconsin summer home. Everyone enjoyed them.

32 oz  can  Bush's Original Baked Beans
1  can  dark red kidney beans, drained
1  pkg  frozen lima beans (small ones)
1/2  lb  bacon, cut up and fried
1  lg  onion, chopped and cooked with bacon until clear
1/2  cup  brown sugar, packed
1  tsp  prepared yellow mustard
1/2 to 1  cup  Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

Combine all these ingredients and bake in a covered casserole dish (or bean pot) @350 degrees for one hour. Remove cover and bake another 30 minutes.

Can be baked in a crock pot for 3 to 3-1/2 hours, but I have never done this.

Baked BBQ Beans

1 med. onion (chopped)

1 lb. bacon, cut in 1 inch strips

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. ketchup

2/3 c. Bar-B-Q sauce

1/3 c. maple syrup

1 Tbs mustard

1 Tbs Worcestershire

Salt and pepper

1 (16 oz.) can pork & beans

1 (16 oz.) can Navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Cook onion, bacon and ground meat until meat is brown, and then drain. Then add remaining ingredients. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to one hour, covered.

You may want to uncover them the last 15 minutes. I check them at 45 minutes to see.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Maple Syrup Rum Baked Beans

You need to use a large bean pot, or a Dutch-oven type pot because it's hard to get to the beans if the opening is too small, as it's all apples on top (which are delicious!).

4  cups  navy beans, dried  

12  cups  water, cold  

1  teaspoon  soda  

1  pound  bacon, sliced  

1  large  onion  

1  teaspoon  dry mustard  

1  cup  maple syrup  

1  tablespoon  coarse salt  

4  apples, cored, unpeeled  

1  cup  brown sugar  

1/2  cup  butter  

1/2  cup  rum, optional  

   

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover the beans with 12 cups cold water. Let soak overnight. In the morning pour the whole thing in a large saucepan. Add 1 tsp soda and more cold water to cover the beans, if needed.

Bring to a boil, uncovered, then boil until some of the skins come off when you blow on the beans.

Line a bean pot with some of the bacon, and then pour in the beans along with their water, layering in the rest of the bacon.

Wet the onion with water and roll the onion in dry mustard until all of the mustard sticks to it. Bury it in the middle of the beans. Pour the maple syrup and coarse salt on top.

Bake 4-5 hours in your preheated oven.

In the last hour of cooking, cover the beans with whole apples, placed as close together as possible.

Cream together the sugar and butter, and spread the mixture on top of the apples. This forms a most delicious topping when the beans are baked.

Pour the rum on top just before serving.

Old Settler’s Baked Beans

1-1/2  lbs  bacon, diced
1  lg  onion, chopped
1/2  cup  sugar
1/2  cup  brown sugar, packed
1/4  cup  ketchup
1/4  cup  barbeque sauce
 2  Tbs  prepared mustard
 2  Tbs  molasses
1/2  tsp  chili powder
1  tsp  salt
1/2  tsp  pepper
1  can  (16 oz.)  kidney beans, drained
1  can  (16 oz.)  butter beans, drained
1  can  (31 oz.)  pork and beans

Brown the bacon and onions in a skillet over medium heat. Remove and drain. Mix with the remaining ingredients in a large casserole dish.  Bake 350° about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.