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Wednesday, August 22, 2001
No hot oven for these bean dishes
Use outdoor grill for baked bean recipes
By Joyce Rosencrans
Scripps Howard News Service

Scripps Howard News Service

Baked bean quesadillas is an easy dish to make without using the oven.

What would we do without canned baked beans to make nourishing, hot summertime meals while the oven remains off?
   Doctored canned beans have brought out cooks' creativity for decades. There are more things to do with canned beans, of course, besides baking them in beanpots. Spoon them into quesadillas, onion or bell pepper cups and "bake" in a covered gas grill over low, indirect heat. Spoon microwaved beans on toast, English-style, or "re-bake" canned baked beans in a slow cooker.
   In order to celebrate canned baked beans, here are four recipes you might never have thought to concoct.
   The bourbon bake is from Jasper, a recipe clipped for a family notebook of recipes, "Best of the Barnes Girls," compiled by former Cincinnati Post garden writer Lee Cain for her sisters and friends.
   The other three recipes are suggested by Bush's Country Style Baked Beans.
   BEAN STUFFED PEPPERS
   6 medium red bell peppers
   1 tablespoon olive oil
   2 cups smoked turkey, diced
   1 cup diced green bell pepper
   1 dried chipotle pepper, minced
   1 garlic clove, minced
   1 (28-oz.) can Bush's Country Style Baked Beans
   Salt, pepper to taste
   Yield: 6 servings
   Grilling: 20 minutes, 7 if microwaving
   Slice tops off peppers and set aside. Remove seeds, veins from bottoms; set aside. On grill, heat an aluminum pan and add oil, turkey, green pepper, chipotle and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes. Add beans and bring to a boil. Spoon bean mixture into pepper cups and cook on medium/hot grill, covered, indirect heat, for up to 20 minutes or until peppers are tender-crisp. Grill pepper tops 5 minutes. Replace tops to serve.
   Variation: Mix ingredients and stuff into pepper cups at room temperature. Place upright in glass baking pan, add a little water to pan, loosely cover and microwave on full power about 7 minutes.
   BOURBON BAKED BEANS
   4 (16-oz.) jars or cans of baked beans
   1 (15-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
   1 (12-oz.) jar chili sauce
   ½ cup strong brewed coffee
   ½ cup bourbon
   ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
   1 tablespoon molasses
   ¾ teaspoon dry mustard
   Yield: 12 servings
   Slow cooker: 2 to 3 hours
   Combine canned baked beans in a large slow cooker (Crock Pot) with drained pineapple, chili sauce, coffee, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses and dry mustard. Stir well, cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Uncover, stir and cook to desired consistency. This takes another hour or so and beans may still be runnier than you like. If so, transfer beans to a large skillet or Dutch oven and simmer, uncovered, to proper consistency, or serve with a slotted spoon.
   Tip: To make instant strong coffee, dissolve 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules in ½ cup microwave-boiled water.
   BAKED BEAN QUESADILLAS
   1 (28-oz.) can Bush's Country Style Baked Beans
   6 flour tortillas (10-inch)
   1 tablespoon melted butter or spray oil
   1 cup low-fat sour cream
   3 cups coarsely grated white or yellow Cheddar cheese
   5 Anaheim mild green chilies, seeded, thinly sliced
   3 green onions, chopped
   ½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped, optional
   Yield: 6 servings
   Cooking: 2 to 4 minutes
   Drain beans and reserve sauce. Heat grill or griddle to medium-high. Lay tortillas flat on work surface and spray tops with oil or brush with butter and flip over. Mix reserved bean sauce and sour cream. On top half of each tortilla, spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of sour cream mixture, baked beans, cheese, chilies (may substitute canned chopped mild green chilies), green onions and cilantro, if using. Fold empty, bottom portion of tortilla over ingredients.
   Arrange quesadillas on griddle or grill grate and cook until tortillas are browned on both sides and cheese is melted, up to 2 minutes each side. If they brown too quickly on grill, move them to a cooler section of the grill grid so contents heat through and tortillas don't burn. Serve as half-moons or cut into wedges.
   BARBECUED SWEET ONIONS
   2 cups hickory wood chips
   8 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions
   1 (16-oz.) can Bush's Country Style Baked Beans
   ¼ cup dark brown sugar
   ½ cup sweet red barbecue sauce
   ½ stick butter, cut in 8 pieces
   2 bacon strips, pre-cooked, cut into 2-inch pieces, 8 in all
   Milled black pepper to taste
   Yield: 8 servings
   Grilling: 40 to 60 minutes
   Soak chips in water for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside. Set up grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium (350 degrees). Cut off onion stems and peel. Hollow out onions, leaving base intact. Finely chop pieces removed. Combine them in a mixing bowl with beans, brown sugar and barbecue sauce. Spoon bean mixture into onions. Top each onion with ½ tablespoon butter, ground pepper and a piece of bacon. Arrange onions on grill grate away from fire. If using a charcoal grill, toss wood chips on coals. If a gas grill, place chips in a smoke box. Grill onions 40 to 60 minutes, cover closed, or until they are pale golden brown and tender.



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