5 Minute Baked Beans

I never really realized it, but I love baked beans. They are a staple for any summer picnic or barbecue, but I start thinking baked beans when the cooler air of late August or early September starts to make me think of warmer comfort foods.  Baked beans can be awesome. They can be warm, sweet, and bubbly.  But they can also be a quick addition to a meal that satisfies just about everyone. Ready-to-eat baked beans from a can used to be a quick add-on here, just heat and eat with no fuss.  Even the youngest chef wielding a can opener could take charge of the beans.  Now I find the ready-to-eat varieties inevitably contain an ingredient that is on my list of foods to avoid.  Whether it is 'modified food starch', a corn derivative, 'distilled vinegar' or 'natural flavor'.  So baked beans fell off the menu unless I was willing to toil over cans of navy beans and a hot oven, or had the foresight to throw them in a crockpot to cook all day.

Well, not anymore.  These beans are done in 5 minutes, start to finish, thanks to the work done by Grandma Brown.  Ingredients: water, navy beans, brown sugar, bacon, salt, and baking soda. Simple.  And with some simple tweaks these simple beans become something that pleases even the fussiest eater.  And I do mean simple tweaks, that young can opener yielding chef can even add the ingredients to make these beans!

So on to the recipe:

Gluten Free

Corn Free

Allergen Free for: Egg, Soy, Nut, Peanut, Wheat, Shellfish, Fish, Dairy

Start with 2 cans Grandma Brown's Baked Beans.

Add one can black beans rinsed and drained.

 Add 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons Molasses.

Then add 2 Teaspoons of a good deli mustard.

Mix.

Cover and Microwave on high 3 minutes.

Now you can make these your own.  Like them a little sweeter? Add a bit more brown sugar.  Like them with a bit more zing?  Add a bit more deli mustard.  Do you like spicier food?  Add a 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

These are SIMPLE, GOOD beans that fit into our day to day lives as an add-on to a family meal, when making beans is not the main event of the hour, but beans are a delicious addition to the meal.