Bootlegger Beans deserve a recipe repeat

Dear Heloise: Back in the late ’70s, the college fraternity I was in had a parents day, and I was required, being a newly initiated member, to help prepare the meal. I called my mother for her baked-bean recipe, and it is the same as your Bootlegger Beans, but my mother’s recipe adds an equal amount of yellow mustard as ketchup. This gives it more of a barbecue taste. When it comes to recipes, mother knows best. Scott in Houston

Scott, mother does usually know best, and this was also my mother’s recipe! This Heloise Bootlegger Beans recipe is a longtime reader favorite since it was first printed in 1963! Remember, since this is not an “exact” recipe, you can add a little more or less. Also, since today’s canned items are different sizes, watch the ounces. I found one can was 11 ounces and another was 15 ounces.

HELOISE BOOTLEGGER BEANS

3 strips of bacon, diced

1 small onion, chopped

1 (15 ounces) can of pork and beans in tomato sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

Fry the bacon in a medium saucepan (or large if using two cans of beans) over medium-high heat until almost done. Add the onion and continue frying until the onion starts to brown. Pour off almost all of the grease and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well and cover. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes. This recipe is far better when simmered or baked in a greased casserole dish for about two hours in the oven on 250 degrees. It also may be varied by using canned chili beans or even one can of each! Let your taste be your guide. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I buy, seed, devein, flatten and freeze sweet red peppers. When a recipe calls for red pepper, I thaw a portion under cold tap water. When it softens a bit, I can remove the tough skin by running a sharp knife just under the skin at the edge of the pepper. This is less messy and saves more juices and flesh than broiling and skinning the peppers. The smoky taste that some like is missing, but I prefer it that way. Martha A. Miller, Manhattan, Kan.

Dear Heloise: Here is my favorite kitchen hint: Our old house is on a septic system, with no garbage disposal. When I am fixing dinner or a big meal, I put a plastic grocery bag in a bowl in the second sink, and all wet, smelly stuff goes in there. When done or time to clean up the kitchen, I tie the bag, and it goes in the trash can outside. We do compost many things, but this also works in regular households, too. Danny B. from Texas

Dear Heloise: When using a recipe from a cookbook, I make a copy of the page. It eliminates spots on the book. Norma, via e-mail

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

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