Sweet Heat BBQ Baked Beans

 

Sweet Heat BBQ Baked Beans

6 slices bacon, chopped into large chunks
1 onion, chopped

1 pound navy beans, rinsed and cooked
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup Texas Pete, hot sauce

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Fry the bacon pieces in a skillet until browned and crisp, remove from the pan and set aside. Cook onion until slightly soft. Transfer onion and bacon to a large bowl.
Pour the navy beans, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar into the bowl and stir. Add hot sauce, garlic powder, mustard* and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until everything is distributed evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Pour bean mixture into a casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes

*Quick tip... Adding the ingredients in this order keeps the vinegar from "cooking" the mustard. If that happens, the mustard "beads up" and won't combine smoothly with the other ingredients.

Homemade Ketsup

I have never made my own ketchup. I've made mayonnaise and many different salad dressings and sauces, but not ketchup. It's so easy just to buy it. Well, I have so many friends that are into fresh, clean, healthy and truly organic foods. They are into canning and preserving and putting up their own foods. I thought I'd give ketchup making a try. I researched a lot and found many recipes. This is what I came up with today.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a medium saucepan, combine the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, mustard, cayenne, cinnamon, tomato paste, honey and salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Add the crushed tomatoes and vinegar.

Simmer until the sauce is very thick and flavorful,

about 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool and place in a blender or

food processor and blend until smooth.

Strain to catch any chunks or un-processed pieces.

 Jar and process according to

canning instructions, or refrigerate.

The hubby says that it tastes like Heinz to him, but I plan on adjusting the seasonings to fit my taste. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 to 3 cups, so you can afford to make a couple of batches to make it what you want or like.

Mama's Catfish Stew

Usually, I serve this over rice, but this was my plate,

and I didn't want the added starch.

I just ate the catfish and sauce. :-)

This is typical Judy Bradham Elliott!!! LOL

I found this recipe in Mama’s handwriting on a piece of torn notebook paper (about 2 inches) grocery list on one side…no title, and directions on the back. Click on the pictures for a clearer view, if you'd like! :-)  This is the only catfish stew recipe she had…but it works. It is perfection!

This is the grocery list for a dinner party...

                            Catsup........... Bread........... Bacon
                            Mustard.......... Drinks.......... Butter
                            Onions........... Coffee.......... Sweets
                            Butts Meat**... Sugar
                            Rice............... Cream
                            Salt................ Milk
                            Pepper........... Eggs

Cook Butts Meat until almost done. Add cut up onion. Cook. Drain off grease. Add fish. Add catsup to cover fish real good. Add 2 tablespoons mustard. Add salt and pepper and one cup water. Don't stir.* Twist pot. Simmer until done. Serve over rice.

and on the back... instructions for the catfish stew.

* Don't stir the pot, because it will break up the fish.

**Use Fatback or Bacon in place of the Butts Meat if you can't readily find it.

Raw Fries

In the South, raw fries are kind of like homemade potato chips. However, they are not always served crunchy... Raw fries are potatoes that have been very, very thinly sliced with a mandolin or a very sharp knife. They are fried in oil... sometimes double fried. Some people know them as 'home fries'. At my house, the hubby likes them golden brown and crunchy, served with two sides... ranch and ketsup. My son and I like them a little more soft... medium or limp served with vinegar. If we eat them with wings, I like to dip them in the wing sauce.

1 or 2 potatoes per person

Wash the potatoes and slice them very, very thin, leaving the peeling on the potatoes. Place them in ice water until ready to fry. Heat oil to 350 degrees. Carefully drop a handful of potatoes at the time in the oil. Do not overcrowd or they will boil and not fry. Fry until potatoes are at the desired texture.

If you want, medium raw fries or a little soft,

take potatoes out as soon as they being to turn brown.

For crunchy raw fries,

leave the potatoes in the oil until they are golden brown.

 Medium on the left...

Crunchy!