Country Style Baked Beans
Servings: 12 (I froze two serving portions in 8 oz plastic cream cheese containers.)

When we visited Sapelo Island we were served a meal with a slice of ham and very tasty beans, which had been cooked with ham hock and pig tails. They were so tasty (also served with rice), that when I came home I looked for a recipe and couldn't find one with those exact ingredients.

In the supermarket I picked up a bag of dried Great Northern Beans and checked the back for a similar recipe. No such luck. What I found used bacon as part of the seasoning.

I could tell from reading the ingredients that they were going to be very bland and uninspiring, so I made some changes, which are shown in the following ingredients list.

Ingredients:
1 lb. dry Great Northern Beans
6 cups water
2 tsp salt
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
generous grating black pepper

Sauté:
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 14.5 oz can. diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Nuked separately and added to sauteed vegetables:
6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

After beans have cooked: (before baking)
mix in 1 tsp Liquid Smoke and 2 tbsp light brown sugar

Serve over rice.

Directions:

Combine washed and sorted beans, water and salt in large saucepan. Cover and let stand OVERNIGHT.

Next day, drain, add water to cover beans, and simmer with garlic, bay leaf and pepper, until tender (about 2 hours). While beans are cooking, nuke 6 slices of bacon between paper towels, let cool and crumble or dice.

Sauté onions until golden. Add remaining ingredients to onion and cook for 5 minutes.

Drain beans, RESERVING LIQUID, and add to mixture along with tsp of Liquid Smoke and 2 tbsp light brown sugar. Stir thoroughly, then place in a 2 quart casserole.

Add bean liquid to cover and bake at 350° about 1 hour, adding liquid if necessary.