The perfect side dish for any cookout is always baked beans. I am just keeping it real here, usually I just open up a can and heat it up. Ain't no shame in my game! Hey, I like to keep things simple. From time to time I will throw a curve ball at the family and just make them myself. And when I do, they go crazy for them.
This really is a dump and go kind of recipe. No bowls were needed. I just dumped it all in the casserole dish and mixed it right in there. If I can use one less dish I am a happy girl. Plus, to make this recipe even easier, I used fully cooked bacon. So easy y'all!
Happy Grilling!
Easy Baked Beans
3 - 15 oz cans of pork and beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of mustard
8 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons of butter
Optional: bacon slices for top
Mix all ingredients together and place in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Sharing the love at these great parties:
Sometimes when I think of recipes to share, I think to
myself “everyone knows how to make that” but then I have to remind myself that
not everyone does. Macaroni and potato salads are those kinds of recipes that
you just expect everyone to know how to make. Everyone’s mom or grandma has
their special family recipe that gets passed down through the generations. It’s
a way of life for some families but I have to remind myself that not everyone has those kinds of recipes. So
if your grandma made the best, I am sure this one doesn’t compare to the love
she put into her salad.
We tend to buy macaroni salad at the grocery store when we have a BBQ and every now and again I skip that and just make this recipe. Macaroni salad is always a favorite at potlucks and BBQ’s. It is really a “dump in what you have” kind of recipe. Cheese cubes are also a great addition to this summer salad. Have tomatoes? Dump them in. The possibilities are endless with this recipe.
Macaroni Salad
1 lb
macaroni, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cup
mayonnaise
2 stalks of
celery, chopped
1/4 cup
shredded carrots
3 green
onions, chopped
1/2 green
bell pepper, chopped
Salt and
pepper to taste
Cook the macaroni noodles according to package directions.
While that is cooking, prepare the vegetables and green onions and place in a
large bowl. Add in the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Once the macaroni is done,
drain and rinse with cold water. Dump
into the bowl with the vegetables and mayonnaise mixture and combine until
noodles are fully covered. Place in the fridge to chill.
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One of my favorite things about summer is a Caprese Salad. I could eat it every day and be happy. So I knew it was time to create a Caprese Pasta Salad with all those flavors that I love.
This came together pretty quickly for our BBQ that we hosted for our son and his girlfriend. She loves Caprese Salad just as much as I do so I knew I just had to test it out on her. I think we both ate ourselves silly.
Basil is one of those herbs that I have to have in my herb garden every year. I find myself picking from it every single day. Sometimes, I just go out and pick a few sprigs off the top just to make the air around me smell like basil. My husband is not as big of a fan as I am and always makes some silly comment every time he smells it while out in the yard. Silly man, you don't know what you are missing!
Our cherry tomato plants have turned out to be regular tomato plants. I have never seen a cherry tomato that big so it must have been a boo boo! I was a little disappointed but oh well, we will just add those in with all the other tomatoes that are coming in nicely now (FINALLY) I will just have to visit a road side stand or the grocery store to buy those this year.
Here is a little funny story, last year we had a cherry tomato plant pop up beside our kitchen door steps. We watered it, staked it, and wouldn't you know it, we had more tomatoes on that random plant than we did all the ones we planted. Only thing I can imagine is a cherry tomato must have fell to the ground the year before and it seeded. Or maybe a bird dropped it. Either way, we enjoyed those babies all summer!
This Caprese Pasta Salad was declared a keeper with the family. Everyone loved it, well Mr. Picky Pants wouldn't try it, his loss! It is a must try this summer.
Caprese Pasta Salad
16 oz Ruffles pasta, cooked to al dente and drained (rotini works well too)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup Mozzarella pearls
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
1/4 cup pesto
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Stir basil, pesto, olive oil, and vinegar in a bowl until combined. Stir into remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
More Veggie Recipes:
Shared at
Meal Plan Monday
Weekend Potluck
Pizza Pasta Salad...say what? Yep, you read that right!! This Pizza Pasta Salad is to die for good. The best part of this is the homemade dressing.
Of course, pasta salads are a must during the summer when grilling out happens a few times a week. Not only is this pizza pasta salad good as a side dish, I enjoyed it for lunch a couple of days last week. The dressing just gives this pizza pasta salad a boost in flavor that will just keep calling out to you. Just begging you to come and grab a bite or two. It is just that good.
Whenever I go to any gathering where food is involved, I usually get really excited for the sides. I am a side dish girl and could eat just the side dishes on any given meal and be happy. Fresh string beans are plentiful here in Virginia and just begging to be enjoyed. Recently while at a roadside vegetable stand with my parents, they bought a mess of beans to cook up. She must have made Dad happy with them because she had instructions to go back and get a bigger mess of them.
When I first tried a broccoli salad I was at a friends BBQ. With one bite, I was an instant fan. Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies. Bacon lends a smokiness to the dish while the Craisins give it a little pop of sweet. I mean come on, bacon makes everything better right?
This recipe came to me one evening when I only had a little pork barbecue left and not enough to feed everyone. I had the rest of the ingredients on hand and I whipped it up. This is so simple to throw together and so yummy. On Saturday evening I decided to make this for my parents and my sister since they had not had this before and I had leftovers. They all really enjoyed it. I used the recipe for my Crockpot Pork Barbecue , purchased two ready made pizza crusts, and mozzarella cheese.
Place the pizza crusts onto your pans, spoon about 2 tablespoons of your barbecue sauce and spread all over the crust. Be careful not to use to much, this really does not need a lot of sauce. Sprinkle the leftover pork barbecue onto the crust, you really do not need alot for this. Spread mozzarella cheese and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted. This really is good, the first time I made this I also made a frozen pepperoni pizza for the kids, everyone ate the barbecue pizza. Now that to me means this is a keeper! I really hope you get to try my Crockpot Pork Barbecue and try this pizza with some of the leftovers.
Barbecue Pizza
leftover pork barbecue--->recipe here
pizza crust
barbecue sauce
mozzarella cheese
Spoon about two tablespoons onto a prepared pizza crust, sprinkle pork barbecue all over and spread mozzarella cheese all over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted. Enjoy!
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