Bourbon Maple Bacon Baked Beans

My niece and nephew love baked beans.  LOVE THEM.  I'm not sure why or how this happened, but if you find something a kid will eat, you give it to them.  However, I'm all about making things from scratch, as those canned goods are full of all sorts of stabilizers, thickeners, and other unidentifiables.  So I needed to develop a recipe.  A recipe that wasn't just as bad as the cans because it included ketchup or barbecue sauce.  I know the recipe list looks long, but I promise a big chunk of it is just spices to give the beans their yummy flavor.  The little muchkins gobbled this up and asked for more, so I think that's about the highest praise a recipe can get.

Note: There's a little bourbon in these for the flavor.  It's completely safe for children, as the alcohol cooks out during the long period in the oven, but you can absolutely leave it out anyway.

Bourbon Maple Bacon Baked Beans

8 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup honey
½ cup real maple syrup
3 teaspoons liquid smoke
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground yellow mustard
2 teaspoons sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves
¼ cup bourbon (optional)
3 (15-ounce) cans navy beans, rinsed and drained

In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crispy and fat is rendered.  Using a slotted spoon, scoop bacon onto a paper towel to drain.  Keep two tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot and discard the rest.  Add the onions to the bacon fat and cook until the onion is translucent.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.  Add half of the cooked bacon and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Pour beans into a casserole dish and top with the remaining bacon.  Cook, covered, for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until beans are slightly saucy and bubbling.

Makes 8 servings

Spend with Pennies: Spaghetti Casserole

Sometimes the best way to take care of someone is to make them dinner and take it over to their house.  And the best dinner to deliver is probably a casserole.  It's one dish, easy to heat up, and easy to clean up afterwards.  Low effort, high return.  And when it's a pile of tomatoey pasta with sausage and cheese?  Yeah, I don't have to keep convincing you.  This casserole is spaghetti taken to the next level.

Note: I used vermicelli for this casserole instead of traditional spaghetti noodles.  I find that it makes it less doughy with the thinner noodles.

Spaghetti Casserole
Adapted from Spend with Pennies blog

16 ounces dried spaghetti noodles
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed

½ pound hot Italian sausage, casing removed
3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, divided use
2 (24-ounce) jars spaghetti sauce, divided use
1 (8-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup sour cream
3 cups shredded mozzarella, divided use
½ cup butter, cut into slices, divided use

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package, drain well and return pasta to original pot. Add 1 jar of prepared spaghetti sauce and combine. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, sausage, and 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning to skillet, and cook until no pink remains. Drain well. Add 1 jar of spaghetti sauce to skillet. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Set aside.

Place half the slices of butter in a 9x13 baking dish. Spread half the spaghetti in dish, then spread cheese mixture evenly over spaghetti. Spread remaining spaghetti over cheese mixture. Top with the remaining butter slices. Pour tomato meat sauce evenly over top layer of spaghetti.

Top with remaining mozzarella and bake in preheated oven until casserole is heated through, about 35 to 45 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

Honey and Birch: Bacon-Wrapped Dates with a Honey Balsamic Reduction

It's hard to cook for a family full of picky eaters, whether self-imposed or illness-imposed.  Each new item added to the no-no list means that many more recipes that either have to be altered or removed from the rotation entirely.  So it's nice to find creative new recipes that are an easy hit.  I hadn't eaten many dates before, but I figured that anything stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon was going to be delicious.  And I wasn't wrong.  Go easy on the balsamic reduction; it's a strong pop of flavor.

Note: I added a dash of cayenne pepper to the goat cheese.  Everyone needs a little spice in their life.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with a Honey Balsamic Reduction
Adapted from Honey and Birch blog

30 pitted Medjool dates
15 slices of bacon, cut in half
1 (4-ounce) log goat cheese
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup honey
¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Preheat your oven to 350°F and cover a baking sheet with foil. Combine the goat cheese and pecans in a small bowl. Mix well.

Stuff each date with the goat cheese mixture - you want to stuff them so they are full but not overflowing. Wrap a piece of bacon around the date so that the date's opening is covered - stretch the bacon if you need to.  Secure each piece of bacon with a toothpick.

Place each bacon-wrapped date on the baking sheet, spacing evenly on your baking sheet.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bacon is crispy, and remove from the oven. Let cool completely before serving.

While the dates are baking, combine the honey and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until combination is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit to thicken.

Makes 10 servings

Yellow Squash and Zucchini Casserole

My mom decided that it would be a good idea to plant both yellow squash and zucchini in her garden.  She apparently hadn't heard the horror stories from other backyard gardeners.  Don't worry, she now knows that all the stories are true.  Her zucchini plant produced a massive green zucchini, and her squash plants grew enough to fill a Ziploc.  This was all about a week before she left town on vacation.  So all the squashes came to my apartment.  And they merrily ended up in this cheesy concoction.  My favorite part is the herbed cracker topping, so don't leave that part out.

Yellow Squash and Zucchini Casserole

1 pound yellow squash, sliced
1 pound zucchini, sliced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
1 large shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
⅛ teaspoon dried dill

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.

Boil the squash and zucchini until almost tender. Drain the squash and zucchini well and let cool to room temperature in a colander. Mash against the side of the colander to push out the excess water. Move the squash and zucchini to a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the shallot and sauté until translucent, then add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds or so.  Do not let the garlic brown.  Add the shallot mixture to the squash in the bowl. Crush 8 to 10 crackers and sprinkle over the squash mixture; mix well. Season with salt and pepper.  Mix in the shredded cheese and the eggs. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

Crush the remaining crackers.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with the herbs, and then toss the crackers in the melted butter.  Top the squash with the buttered crackers. Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the casserole is hot and puffed.

Makes 6 servings