Old Fashioned Maple Baked Beans and 16 Great Recipes for Grilling and BBQs

     It is finally grilling season again!  For whatever reason, when I think of grilled meat baked beans are one of the sides that come to mind.  Are you making burgers?  You'll need some baked beans.  Is pulled pork on your menu?  Baked beans!  Grilling chicken?  Make baked beans!  My grandma recently gave me my great-grandma's bean pot and I couldn't wait to use it.  I love using things that generations of my family have used, there is just so much history and love in the pot that it has to make the food that much better.  

   The only problem was, if I was going to go through the effort of using the bean pot I wanted to go full bore.  I didn't want to start with beans in a can, I wanted to start with dried beans and do the whole thing.   When I saw this recipe for Quebec Maple Baked Beans over at She Loves Biscotti, I knew I had found the recipe I wanted to try. It was different than any of the baked beans I had ever tried, and nothing like the ones you normally find in the cans.  Plus I had some homemade Canadian bacon in the freezer from one of K.C.'s smoking experiments, so that had to go in too.  How much more fun could it get than that?!  Homemade beans in my great-grandma's pot with Canadian bacon my brother made.  

    The beans turned out delicious.  They definitely take some time and a bit of work, but they were delicious.  You can make them in the slow cooker as well.  Head over to She Loves Biscotti for those directions. 

Old Fashioned Maple Baked Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb dry navy beans

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 T molasses

2 T ketchup

2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 lb Canadian bacon, chopped

3 cups hot water

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

1. Soak beans overnight.  Rinse and drain.
2. Place in a large pot and cover with fresh water.  Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat then rinse and drain again.
3. Place beans in bean pot or dutch oven. Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover tightly and place in an oven preheated to 225 F.
4. Bake for 5 1/2 hours.  Then remove lid and stir.  Add water if necessary, then bake for another half hour with the lid off.

    Now, just in time for Father's Day we wanted to give you some great ideas for grilling season. Whether it is something to enjoy while you are grilling, something to throw on the grill or sides to enjoy with your grilled meat these all look great.  I can't wait to try them all!  

Fiddlehead Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Melts

Aunt Sarah's Balsamic Corn and Bean Salsa

Anne of Green Gables Lemonade

Pops' Bul Kogi Backstrap

Maw-Maw's Hamburger Surprise

Nightshade Free Backyard Burgers

Jenny's Grilled Pork Loin With Bacon

Creamy Coleslaw

Almost German Potato Salad

Bacon Cheddar Potato Packs

Summer Squash Casserole

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Amaretto Sour Cupcakes

Strawberry Ice Cream

Amazing Strawberry Shortcake

Best Blueberry Pie