Texas Beans a.k.a. simple baked beans

Texas beans, or ranch style beans are a bit simpler version of baked beans recipes. Typically, baked beans use white beans of some sort, are mixed with sauce and spices, and are then baked.

This recipe starts with pinto beans, although white beans, like a Great Northern work just as well. Bacon and spices are used at the beginning, so at the end, the assembly is quite simple,the recipe uses one pot, and leaves no baked-on mess to clean up!

Texas Beans or Ranch Style Beans start with homemade beans tht deliver lots of flavor.

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Recipe:

For the Beans:

4 oz. bacon diced

1 lb. pinto beans

1 onion diced

1/2 green bell pepper diced

4 cloves garlic smashed

1 stalk celery diced

2 bay leaves

Put all ingredients in a pot and fill with 8 cups water. Bring beans to a simmer and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until tender.

* Salting beans while cooking can toughen them, so salt after they are cooked. And, since we are adding more ingredients at the end, it is better here to salt at the end. For the finished beans:

1 cup of BBQ sauce

1/2 cup bean cooking liquid

3 Tb. brown sugar

After the beans are cooked, strain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Mix in 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and the rest of the ingredients. Return to the stove and heat gently. The beans will be rather "loose," if they are too loose, heat on the stove until water evaporates.

These beans are dynamite served with the chipotle cole slaw and mixed together. Sounds weird but it works!

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