Calico Beans

This is a staple for pretty much every party we have.  We only make it for large events when they get eaten up though, but the dish would be great for a family for supper even with bread and butter because it has hamburger in it, bacon and the beans, so filling and tasty.  I am not a bean person normally, but I love the sauce on these and like them as a side dish with ham or picnics especially.  Today is my daughter's boyfriend, Kevin's, 50th birthday at their place and they are having a big crowd with outdoor games and tons of food.  So far the day is beautiful, so it's going to be a lot of fun.  I offered to make the giant potato salad and these beans for the luncheon.  I hope both come back to  me empty!  I doubled the recipe, but this is the single version..

CALICO BEANS:

Brown 1 lb hamburger with 1/2 of a chopped onion, salt and pepper.  Drain.

Cook 1/2 lb bacon (I cut it up with kitchen shears in smaller squares so I don't have to later), until most of the fat is gone, but not too crispy)..drain.

In a regular crockpot (or large one if you double) Add:
the hamburger and bacon
1 (15 ounce) can of kidney beans drained
1 (15 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained.
1 (16 ounce) can of baked beans with pork (I used Bushs)
1 (4 ounce?) can lima beans
1/2 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Stir well and cook on Low for at least 2 hours.  Can keep on low for a long time. 

You can also bake these in the oven in a 9 x 13 pan, covered, for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Beer and BBQ Country Style Pork Ribs

They had country pork ribs at our little local grocery store on sale this past weekend, so I bought a pack.  I hadn't even cooked them for quite a while and thought we needed a change from the standby stuff every day.  Today I decided to look up a recipe that was a little different than the norm, and found this one that I changed a little bit with adding my husband, Dave's, moms homemade BBQ sauce that we like to much.  I just added a tsp of minced garlic to it per the recipe's suggestion..  I really liked the end result.  I made some mashed potatoes, corn and tossed salad to go along with it and some cut up watermelon. 

Here is the recipe: The original was from the "Meat Lovers cookbook" and had a 5 star rating and lots of reviews.

BEER AND BBQ COUNTRY STYLE PORK RIBS:]

3 lbs country style boneless pork ribs (I had bones in some of mine and it worked out fine-just took the meat off them before serving)
2 medium onions, sliced (mine were sweet yellow onions)
1 (12 oz) can of beer (I used Michalob light because there was a can in the fridge)
2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce (a lot of people used sweet baby rays, but I made Netties-the recipe is on this blog under Nettie's BBQ sauce)

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Brown the pork on all sides
2) Place the ribs in an oven proof pan and scatter the onions all around them.
3) Pour in the beef and cover with a lid or tin foil tightly.
4) Bake at 300 degrees for 3-4 hours until very tender
5) Pour out the beer, leaving the onions.
6) Slather the pork with the BBQ sauce and add 3 minced garlic cloves if desired to the sauce. Bake uncovered for another hour until the sauce is brown and thick.