Calico Beans

[JTHunter]

This is a recipe that came from my g/f's mother many years ago that I have "modified".  It can be a side dish or an entree.

Calico Beans

1 lb. Bacon     1 lb. Ground Beef       2 Tbs. Vinegar
1 large onion, chopped (size of a large orange)   1 can Pork & Beans (28 oz.)
1 can EA. (drain & rinse ALL) Light & Dark Red Kidney beans, Black beans, Great Northern beans, & Pinto beans     1 can Lima beans (drained only)
¾ cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. dry mustard (or 1/3 cup regular mustard)
1/3 cup Ketchup or BBQ sauce   1 can tomato paste (usu. 6 oz.)
Cumin, chili powder, & pepper to taste

Cook bacon until crisp.     Drain off all fat.      Crumble bacon when cooled.
Brown ground beef and drain as well. 
Put all the other ingredients in a crockpot or stockpot, mix, then add the meat and onion and mix again.
Start on Med. to High until very warm, stirring occasionally (if in CP) or fairly frequently (if in stockpot), then
turn to Low and heat for at least 1 hour.  If using a crockpot, it doesn't need to be stirred as frequently as when in a stockpot.

[Kingcreek]

Looks good. I would totally ignore the post if it didn’t start with bacon.

[MillCreek]

I make something similar except that I don't use vinegar, and about half the time I substitute mild pork sausage for the ground beef.

[K Frame]

I posted a recipe for something very close to this in a thread on baked beans a couple of years ago.

The recipe I use is called Cowboy Beans, I think.

It's become a winter staple for me because it's easy and is SO FREAKING GOOD and boy is it filling.

Instead of canned lima beans I use frozen and I use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Gotta look for that recipe.

[K Frame]

OK, this was the thread: https://armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=65505.msg1332630#msg1332630

The recipe I found from Taste of Home was actually called Cowboy Calico Beans.

And you know what? This weekend is going to be kind of nasty, it looks like. Chilly and rainy. So I think I'm going to make a pot of these.

[Kingcreek]

Dried beans are the way to go, you just have to prep the day before.

[K Frame]

Dried beans definitely make for a different texture, but the one great thing about using canned beans is that it's a lot quicker. I have no problem using canned beans for this, but I'd also use dried without compunction.

I think it would be really good with stew beef, as well, but that would require a longer cooking time and for that it would be best to use dried beans that have been soaked and cooked. I'd be afraid that canned beans would get too mushy. Unless you did the meat and sauce first and added the beans at the end.

[JTHunter]

They also make a nice snack or meal served cold in the summer.

[K Frame]

And, and remember, if you use dried kidney beans, you MUST cook them first BEFORE they go in the slow cooker.

Never use your slow cooker to cook kidney beans.

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/kidney-beans-slow-cooker/

[JTHunter]

And, and remember, if you use dried kidney beans, you MUST cook them first BEFORE they go in the slow cooker.

Never use your slow cooker to cook kidney beans.

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/kidney-beans-slow-cooker/

That was interesting.  I had never heard of that compound (PHA) before.  Knowing this makes me glad I don't need/use dried beans as I'm only cooking for one.

[K Frame]

I'm not a huge fan of kidney beans in general, so I rarely use them.

A few years ago I was chatting with a friend while he was putting together a pot of slow cooker chili, and he used dried kidney beans. When I told him about this and sent him a link to the article he ended up throwing away the entire batch and starting over and used canned kidney beans.

I'm also only cooking for one, but I frequently used dried beans in recipes. I make big batches and then either freeze for later or, most frequently, take what I've made on the weekend for lunches the following week.

[K Frame]

In the slow cooker right now.

I went with a pound of carolina dry sausage out of the cases and a pound of ground turkey. Kraft Hickory BBQ sauce and about half as much honey mustard as the recipe calls for.

2 cans of pork & beans, a can of black beans, a can of small red beans, a can of chick peas (not intended, started opening them before I read the label), and a pound of frozen baby lima beans.

Garlic, extra onion powder to boost the yellow onion, smoked paprika, and oregano.

Smells pretty freaking good in here right now.

[K Frame]

Yum.

[Ben]

Dang, this sounds pretty darn good. It looks like we'll finally have cooking weather with maybe even a little snow by next weekend. I was going to do beef boogaloo, but maybe I'll try this first, along with some fresh baked bread. I don't have a slow cooker, but I reckon a dutch oven should work.

[K Frame]

Dang it! I bought 8 ounces of mushrooms that I wanted to throw in with the meat and the onions and I forgot.

Anyway...

I can't remember, Ben. Do you have an induction cooktop or unit? I find that they are a fantastic substitute for a slow cooker when I want to do something like a larger batch of chili.

I can dial my unit in to maintain a variety of temperatures, including 248, and 212 deg. F and possibly at least one temp lower.

I find that for something like chili getting the pot really boiling first, then dropping the temperature back to 248 or even 212 works great.

Even on the lowest settings my stove doesn't do such a great job. It's a glass top and I'm kind of going through buyer's remorse over it. Yeah, easy to keep clean, but I don't think I like the stove top properties nearly as much as a coil top.

That's one of the reasons I use my induction burner so much.

But, back to your dutch oven... I'd say a good approach would be to get the pot boiling good and hard, then put it in the oven at 225 or 250 for a couple of hours.

[K Frame]

Oh, and for God's sake, get yourself a slow cooker. The things are absolutely fantastic, especially for winter-type dishes.

One of my favorite SC winter dishes is pot roast made with Campbell's Tavern Pot Roast sauce. I'll throw a roast and a pouch of the sauce in the SC on low as I'm walking out the door at 6 a.m. and when I get at 4:30 all I have to do is make some mashed potatoes and I've got me one hell of a dinner.

Here's a list of some really good "all day" slow cooker recipes. I've made a couple of these -- the Creamy Onion Pork Chops and Sausage Sauerkraut Soup are quite tasty.

The Sesame Pork Roast is on my list of dishes to try this winter, and the cheesy ham and corn chowder looks like a really good "it's really shitty outside so I'm staying inside in front of the fire" kind of soup.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/all-day-slow-cooker-recipes/

They've even got a slow cooker Beef Boogaloo recipe in there, which is what I leaned on when I made the recipe from that thread and didn't feel like doing it on the stove top.

[K Frame]

Here you go, a 6-quart slow cooker for $35.

3 settings -- low, high, and keep warm, which is all you need for a slow cooker.

https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Quart-Cooker-Stainless/dp/B07YKYLZ4Y/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3GT1ZUKBECR6F&keywords=slow%2Bcooker%2B6%2Bquart&qid=1698020064&sprefix=slow%2Bcooker%2Caps%2C596&sr=8-6&th=1

Makes no damned sense to me to spend $120 on an SC with blue tooth and a gazillion other features.

Simple programming would be nice, yes, but you can do that with an outlet timer.

[Ben]

I do have the induction cooktop. I was thinking I'd do it similar to boogaloo or stew or whatever where the dutch oven goes in the oven for a while, then finishes off on the cooktop.

I should really look at the slow cooker though, especially if they're that cheap. I especially like the fact that you don't have to do a bunch of stirring like you do if you're doing a long simmer on the stovetop.

[K Frame]

I'll stir a couple of times an hour at the start of cooking just to help distribute the heat.

Then, as things really get cooking, I'll stir maybe once every hour or two. I'll stir more often if I'm cooking on high, less if I'm cooking on low, and that's just to keep stuff around the outside from sticking.

And when I say stir, that's really only with things like chili or stew. If I'm doing chicken thighs or a pot roast, no stirring really necessary.

And yes, I firmly believe that everyone should have a slow cooker. They're really wonderful tools. You can make fantastic apple butter or apple sauce in them. You can use them to slowly reduce apple cider to apple molasses.

They make a great meatloaf (although I normally bake mine in the oven because I like the crust).

Bread and cakes also work great in a slow cooker.

[Ben]

Bread and cakes also work great in a slow cooker.

Well that is interesting. I had no idea.

[K Frame]

Want even more reasons to get a slow cooker?

Cinnamon rolls...

They're fracking awesome!

https://www.bing.com/search?form=MOZLBR&pc=MOZR&q=slow+cooker+cinnamon+rolls

[JTHunter]

Smells pretty freaking good in here right now.

It does sound good. 

And thanks for the recipes.  I have to crockpots, a 3 and a 5 qt.  When I make my game meat stew, I start with the large one to cook the meat,  After 1-2 hrs. on HI, I start the smaller pot and put part of the meat & broth in it.  After getting it up to temperature, I add the veggies and turn it to LO and let it cook overnight.  By the next morning, the meat falls off the bones as I stir it. 

[RocketMan]

And, and remember, if you use dried kidney beans, you MUST cook them first BEFORE they go in the slow cooker.

Never use your slow cooker to cook kidney beans.

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/kidney-beans-slow-cooker/

We've been cooking soaked beans in a slow cooker for years without a problem.  However, all of our slow cooking is done on the high setting, and that always brings things to an easy boil.  That's likely why we get away with it.

[K Frame]

We've been cooking soaked beans in a slow cooker for years without a problem.  However, all of our slow cooking is done on the high setting, and that always brings things to an easy boil.  That's likely why we get away with it.

The warning is specific to Kidney Beans.

[zxcvbob]

And, and remember, if you use dried kidney beans, you MUST cook them first BEFORE they go in the slow cooker.

Never use your slow cooker to cook kidney beans.

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/kidney-beans-slow-cooker/

I knew raw kidney beans are poisonous.  (not venomous, LOL)  I did not know a Crockpot might not cook them hot enough to denature the toxin.  Thanks for posting that.