Spicy Baked Beans

“Beans, beans the magical fruit. The more you eat, the more you….”  Ok, you get it, no need for me to finish the song that was inevitably sung every time beans were served with dinner.

But as annoying as this little bean chant was, the last line still rings true: “I could have beans for every meal.” I really feel like I could, especially these beans.
I just recently bought a stockpot. A beautiful blue, cast iron, heavy-duty stockpot- a true thing of beauty. I love anything kitchen related. I get excited when I get a new spatula, I asked for an ice cream maker for my birthday one year, and my favorite Christmas gift this past year was a bear shaped cutting board from my parents. I also just spent a week in Aptos, CA with my family and came home with a new tea towel and a salad spinner that I’ve been dying to buy. So this stock pot, which was I think 60% off when I bought it (so score for me!), is my new favorite kitchen item and I’ve been waiting for the perfect recipe to use it.

These beans were just calling my name, or more like my stock pot’s name….

By now you get it, I love The Pioneer Woman and want her life. Ok, not her life exactly because the only person whose life I would actually want is Princess Kate’s, but then again who wouldn’t! I still want to be me but just on her farm, with my farm husband and a beautiful kitchen with multiple Kitchenaid mixers. My family and I just had this conversation last night because in fantasy world I would marry Buster Posey and my sister exclaimed that he lives on a farm in Georgia and there’s no way I’d move there. Oh Kara, how little do you know me?! Of course I would! Buster Posey and farm life…. #dreams #ifonly
Back to the beans. I never knew baked beans could be so easy! Throwing ingredients into a pot and letting it simmer, doesn’t get any simpler than that. The original recipe calls for a ham hock but I substituted with a few thick slices of chopped bacon and it worked just fine. For a first run, these beans turned out well but I definitely needed to season, season, season! Beans in themselves do not have a lot of flavor so next time I’ll kick it up a notch with the seasoning! Overall, I’m pleased with the results and will be making these again! Enjoy!

-Kelly

P.S. It’s very hard to photograph beans and make them look appealing…

Original recipe can be found here: The Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Beans

Ingredients:

• 4 cups dry Pinto Beans
• slices of thick cut bacon, chopped and uncooked
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 2 Jalapenos, sliced
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Paprika, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste (I ran out of black pepper so unfortunately it did not make it into the pot!)

Directions:

1. Strain beans under running water to remove any particles (non-beans).
2. Places beans and chopped bacon in stock pot and liberally cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
3. Cover pot and let simmer for about 2 hours. Be sure to check water level and add more as needed.
4. Add onion, bell peppers and jalapenos. Cover pot and simmer for another 1-2 hours.
5. Add seasonings and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
6. Enjoy!