When there’s a potluck, these baked beans are my most requested recipe. My mother got this one from Bessie Bangerter, who was also my 4th grade 4-H sewing teacher. We’ve made this recipe a picnic staple since the 1970s, and it’s an instant hit with everyone (except for my cardiologist.) -E

Bessie’s Baked Beans

Ingredients:
28 oz. can baked beans
2 T. worcestershire sauce
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup catsup (or ketchup)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 pound uncooked bacon, diced

Directions:
In a large frying pan, fry the bacon. When halfway rendered, add the onion and green pepper. Saute until vegetables are soft and onions are brown at the edges. Add drained pineapple. Saute until pineapple is heated through. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir the pork and beans, worcestershire, brown sugar and catsup together. Stir in bacon/onion mixture.
Place mixture in your bean pot, or casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 300-degrees for two hours.

Notes:
Yield: 1 ½ quarts.
You can use pineapple chunks, rather than crushed, if that is all you have in your pantry.
My mother got this recipe back in the 1970s from Bessie Bangerter, who was my 4H teacher. The original recipe calls for a “2.5” can of pork and beans. I found a great resource online to help you translate those old recipes that call for odd can sizes here.

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