Crock Pot Baked Beans

My Hubby and I went to a friend's house a few weeks ago and had the greatest baked beans! I've never been a huge fan. I mean, I'll eat 'em, but I've never thought to make them myself. Even out of a can.

Until now! Inspired by Patrick's great dish, I'm on the hunt for a great recipe....

Here is where I'll start...

Baked Beans in a Crock Pot, simple and strightforward.


BAKED BEANS IN A CROCK POT

1 1/2-2 lb. yellow eyed &/or pea beans
Water
1 tsp. baking soda for soaking
Place beans in large pan, cover with cold water and add baking soda. Cover pan and soak several hours or overnight. Bring beans to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes. Drain.

Mix together:
2/3 c. molasses
8 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tsp. dry mustard
3 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 peeled onion
Place 1/2 the bacon in the bottom of a crock pot. Add drained beans and the molasses mixture. Top with the rest of the bacon. Add 1 peeled onion. Cook on medium setting for 10-12 hours or overnight. If more liquid is needed, add water.


My beans have soaked for a few days in the fridge (busy busy busy!) and I drained them tonight. I'll throw them back in the fridge and mix up the molasses mixture so I can combine them first thing in the morning. Tomorrow night...yummy baked beans for me!

*****
Okay, so that plan didn't exactly happen as hoped.
I threw them together the next night, they cooked on low for 13 hours and were on the verge of drying out. I added another batch of molases mix plus extra water and cooked for another hour or two, then I brought them camping (in our cousin's RV). The next day, I heated them up for a couple hours, and let them sit all day in the residual heat.
The guys still said they were too hard. I think they wanted them mushy.
We brought them home and I added even more water, and cooked for an additional 10 hours and they're still slightly too hard as far as my hubby is concerned. And not enough salt pork flavor. I guess bacon isn't a good enough substitute for these babies!

Plan: Next time I'll soak overnight AND boil up the next day, hopefully that will make a big difference. AND I'll use a salt-pork recipe!

Black Beans and Goat Cheese

Tonight we're watching the NASCAR race, so we're in the mood for superbowl-style food! I decided to "culture it up" a bit with Stephanie's Crock Pot Black Bean and Goat Cheese Dip.
The Recipe:
1/2 can of refried black beans
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 of a lime, juiced
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t cumin
2 T chopped cilantro leaves
3-5 slices of goat cheese
Open the can of refried black beans, and scoop out about half of the contents into the Little Dipper. Squeeze in the lime juice. Add chopped garlic, the spices, and the cilantro leaves. Stir. Top with the sliced goat cheese.Cover and plug in. The Little Dipper doesn't have a temperature gauge. Cook for 1-2 hours, or until the goat cheese has melted and the beans are warm and gooey.

My Variations:
{I didn't have refried black beans on hand, so I searched and searched and didn't find another recipe I really wanted to try, so I said "heck with it" and decided to keep the spirit of this recipe with a few variations.}
So I used:
1/2 can black beans, rinsed
4 oz cream cheese, softened
{I've been making my own mexican seasoning for a few years, so used a tsp of that instead of the suggested spices.}
A dash of lemon juice {it was on hand}
{I unintentionally forgot the garlic}
For a refried bean consistency, I combined the above in the DipPot (1/2 Quart size crock pot) and used my immersion blender to mix it up and make it a little smoother.
I scraped down the sides of the DipPot with a rubber spatula and topped with almost 4 oz of goat cheese. {I had to sample it first!}

Results:
Two & a half hours later, I was surprised that the goat cheese still maintained it's form and texture. It was pretty soft, though, and balanced the bean and mexican seasoning really well. The only problem was that it was a tad bit dry.

Verdict:
Great alternative dip with a little class!
I think the next time I won't drain the beans so it will be a bit more moist. {moister isn't a word, is it?}

{sorry for no pics, next time I make it, I'll take plenty!}

Sprouts

Ever tried growing your own sprouts? This was listed on Jenn's site Frugal Upstate, one of my very favorite blogs.
This isn't exactly a recipe, but I don't want to have to look for it AGAIN.
It's a very cool idea and I just got myself some black beans to try it out.

8/27/08: I found another site with very simple instructions (and no soliciting!)