Find Me

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • RSS Feed

Bacon Cajun Baked Beans

 Post-It  1 Response »
Jun 032013
Pin It
 

bacon cajun baked beans

Baked beans are a must have for any gathering at my house. Not only are they great, they are economical when feeding a crowd. And we love a crowd. During the summer we do a lot of entertaining…and love every minute of it. So, you will see that to make this, I double everything…one batch just isn’t enough to feed this hungry crowd…and there is never a bite left.

Everyone loves this recipe. I am constantly asked to write it down for folks.

And today I am sharing it with all of you!!

 041

Remember I always double it for my house, so the ingredients that I used shown in my picture are for a double batch, but the recipe below is for a single batch. Also, I grabbed the wrong kind of tomatoes for my picture, use diced tomatoes, not crushed.

042

Cook the bacon and onions.

044

Mix the baked beans and cajun seasoning in a baking dish.

045

Place the bacon and onions on top.

046

Mix the sugar and tomatoes together.

049

Then place on top and bake.

3 slices of bacon

1/2 cup minced onion

2 (15 ounce) cans baked beans

1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

2 teaspoons sugar

Fry bacon and onion until bacon is crisp. Place baked beans in a 3 quart baking dish, stir in the Cajun seasoning, mixing well. Layer the bacon/onion mix on top of the beans. Mix together the diced tomatoes and sugar, then pour over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

 

 

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 10:17 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Roasted Asparagus

 Post-It  1 Response »
Jul 232012
Pin It
 

Roasted asparagus is one of our favorite sides. It is requested often and we have it at least once a week around here. The funny thing is, I hear often from guests at our dinner table that they don’t like asparagus. Well, that may be true from how you have had it before, but at least try it is always my suggestion…and then they end up loving it. Most people use asparagus out of a can…that is their first mistake. Always, always, always use fresh asparagus. It tastes better and is better for you. Another problem is that people usually boil it. Yuck, I don’t like it that way either. So, while you may have always said you don’t like asparagus or you may have been afraid to try it…I HIGHLY suggest you try it roasted!!

fresh asparagus

When you are choosing asparagus you want to choose a bunch that doesn’t look wilted and is bright green in color.

cut asparagus

Now, most folks will tell you that you bend each individual stalk and where it bends easily is where you snap it. I have found that it is time consuming to do that. So, I just leave them bound by the rubber bands and cut them all at once where I think they need to be cut. You can see in the picture above that I cut just before the stems start to get lighter. That way you get the healthiest part of the plant with the most flavor and it doesn’t take forever to get there.

asparagus

Once you get your asparagus cut, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the asparagus out on it. Drizzle with Olive Oil, sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper then sprinkle with lemon juice. I never measure how much I use but you want to go lightly with the olive oil and lemon juice and the salt and pepper to taste. To much liquid in the pan will make the asparagus soggy and that is what we want to stay away from. Then simply bake on 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

roasted asparagus

My asparagus looks a little dark here because we like ours a little more done than most. It is all about your personal taste. But seriously…just give it a try, I think you will be hooked!!

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 8:54 am  Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Baked Corn

 Post-It  2 Responses »
May 182012
Pin It
 

Baked Corn

I love corn. Especially fresh corn on the cob. It just screams summer!!

Normally we grill it…because boiling it just doesn’t do it justice.

But now our grill is torn up.

Ugggggggggg!!!!

So, I have learned the next best thing to grilled corn is baked corn.

It’s so easy…and makes your house smell like grilled corn.

Yummy!!

All you have to do is grab a few ears of fresh corn.

fresh corn

Lay them directly on your oven rack.

Seriously. You don’t shuck them or anything.

corn in oven

Hey now! Don’t look at my dirty oven! We are talking corn here.

And don’t go gettin any ideas about sharing how dirty my oven is like you would the results of paternity tests, or some good gossip. It can’t help it…it is always in use. It even groans at times it is so over-worked. But I love my oven anyway, even if it just can’t seem to keep itself clean and presentable.

baked corn

Bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I simply peel back the husks and the silk will fall right off. I then use the folded back husk as a handle.

Baked Corn

Butter, Salt and Pepper

Enjoy!!

Baked Corn

3 ears fresh corn

Butter

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Place ears of corn on oven rack. Bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste. If you want to kick it up a notch…sprinkle with some cajun seasoning. Or some Parmesan cheese.  Or seasoning salt. All of these will give you a variation and the options become limitless in the different spices you could use!

Print This Post Print This Post

 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 11:47 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Italian Cheesy Fries

 Post-It  3 Responses »
May 102012
Pin It
 
Italian Cheesy PotatoesThe other day as I was trying to figure out what to feed this bunch for dinner I got to pondering about cheesy potatoes. Chili Cheese Potatoes. Nah. Ranch Cheesy Potatoes. No. Ohhh, Italian Cheesy Potatoes!! That sounds like it would hit the spot. Then I had to decide what else I was going to fix and decided on the simple goodness of a BLT. It was the perfect combination. All you could hear around the table was groans of contentment. I think we all ate more than our share but heck, something this good just can’t go to waste!
I promise ya, this is one of those dishes that will make a regular appearance at your dinner table, will elicit remarks like OhMyStinkinHeck and groans of deliciousness. I think they are kinda like crack, you just can’t ever get enough. Not that I know what crack is like. Cause I don’t. But I have heard. And this is my new crack.
cut potatoes
Cut your potatoes. Almost like Shoestring potatoes.
season potatoes
Pour cream over the potatoes, season and give em’ a light stir.
cheesy italian potatoes
Add the cheese and parsley. Cover with foil. Poke some homes in it. Bake.
Italian Cheesy potatoes
Heaven in a pan.
italian cheesy fries
Or, on a plate.
Italian Cheesy Fries
Ingredients:
4-5 large potatoes
 2 cups whipping cream
1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix or McCormick Grill Mates® Zesty Herb Marinade which is what I used.
Salt and Pepper to taste (so easy on the salt though)
 2 tsp. Parsley flakes
 2 cups grated cheese (I used shredded Gouda but most any will work)
Directions:
 Cut your potatoes into thin french fry strips, and lay the fries, in a 9×13″ glass baking dish.
Pour all of the cream over the top of the fries. Salt and pepper them and sprinkle the dry Italian Dressing over them. Take a large spoon or spatula and lightly give them a stir. Sprinkle at least 2 cups grated cheese over the top. Sprinkle some dried Parsley flakes on top of the cheese.  Cover with foil and then poke a fork through the top of the foil, 2 or 3 times to allow a little steam to escape. This way, your cream doesn’t boil over into your oven!
Cook at 400 degrees for about 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
 Posted by The Jilly Bean at 12:31 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
 Older Entries
© 2013 The Post-It Place Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha