Sweet & Spicy Homemade Baked Beans

Over medium heat, fry a half pound of bacon in a large frying pan or medium large pot (use one that is oven safe). Cast iron works great for this.

Drain and rinse one 27 ounce can of kidney beans. If you’d like more of a mix, you can use a few small cans of various kinds of beans like one can of kidney beans, one can of black beans and one can of small red beans. Mixed beans are a beautiful thing.

When bacon is fully cooked, take it out of the pan and place on a plate lined with a couple of paper towels to drain. Set aside. Drain excess grease from pan.

Dice one yellow onion and fry it in the same pan until caramelized – over medium heat. Add a couple of cloves of grated garlic (about a teaspoon). Cook for about a minute longer, reduce heat to medium low and carefully add 2 cups of cranberry or apple juice. Stir in drained kidney beans.

Add one 6 ounce can of tomato paste and one tablespoon of vinegar. Stir in 1/2 cup molasses and a 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Then add the bacon (crumbled) to the party. To spice things up, add 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder, a few shakes of house seasoning (like Johnny’s), and salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in the oven at 200F for about 2-3 hours. Serve hot.