Not-Too-Sweet Baked Beans

Source: a mixture of Our Best Bites and the Essential Mormon Celebrations Cookbook (pg 96)

Ingredients:
7 slices bacon (~6 oz), cut in 2 inch pieces
1 small-med onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped (green is good, too)
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (you could use diced tomatoes and skip the potato masher step, I'm sure, but this is what I had in the cupboard)
2 cans pork and beans, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (I made these a second time and used pinto instead and I think I like that way better)
1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
⅓ cup molasses (I had slightly less, so I added a titch more brown sugar to make up for it)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon hot sauce (I used Cholula)

Directions:
Fry bacon in a large skillet until cooked but not crisp.  Add onion and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes.  Drain off bacon grease and discard or save for another use.  Place all beans in a large baking dish or crock pot. Pulse the tomatoes in a blender or food processor about 5-6 times or until they are breaking down but not smooth.  (I just dumped the tomatoes in the empty crock pot and mashed them a bit with a potato masher, then added the beans to it.)  Pour over beans.  Add molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt and hot sauce and mix well.  Stir in bacon, onion, and pepper mixture.  Cover and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or 4 hours on low/2 hours on high in crock pot (I've made it twice in the crockpot and it's a cinch at either temp!).  Makes 12 servings.

Notes:

I really was craving baked beans this month, and luckily I had two opportunities to make (and eat) some (a lot).  I first whipped up a batch for our big birthday bowling/hot dog roast extravaganza and I got good reviews there, so when I was asked to bring something to another family bbq, and one of the options was beans, I jumped at the chance to make them again.  Super yum both times.  And really as easy as can be to throw together.  I especially love the variety of beans and the fact that it's not too sweet (there's still some sweetness, obviously with molasses and brown sugar, but it's not overpoweringly sweet).  You get all kinds of good smoky, beany, peppery flavors going on and I think they're just delish.  Long live beans!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
2-3 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or chicken tenders
16-ounce package sliced bacon, thick cut or regular
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I went with the larger amount on each of these ranges)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you have it, place an uncoated metal cooling rack inside a foil-lined large rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. If not, line a baking pan or broiling pan with foil and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut the chicken breasts into large bite-sized pieces. If using chicken tenders, cut them in half (you can fold over the chicken tender pieces when wrapping so they'll be thicker). Place the chicken pieces in a medium bowl and toss with the salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, garlic powder and red pepper. Let it hang out while preparing the rest of the ingredients (you can cover and refrigerate up to a day).

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and chili powder together. Cut the entire slab of bacon into thirds.

Wrap each chicken piece with small strip of bacon and holding tightly, dredge them in the brown sugar/chili powder mixture. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet (or rack set inside the baking sheet). If the bacon isn’t staying put, you can secure with a toothpick.  (I made mine ahead of time and stored the pan in the fridge for most of the day till it was time to cook.  So when it came time to cook them, they took closer to 30-40 minutes to cook since everything was so cold.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is cooked through. Flip it once if the chicken is laying directly on the baking sheet. Serve immediately.

Notes:
I was looking for new appetizer recipes that I could serve for Christmas Eve or New Years Eve or just your average Thursday Eve.  And of course, Mel came through for me again.  These were delicious!  I loved the slight spicy-sweet coating that came from the brown sugar-chili powder dusting over the top of these little delights.  My only complaint is that the bacon never really got crispy.  I don't know if it's supposed to, but I guess I was expecting it to, so when it stayed pretty soft and chewy, I was a little bit bummed.  But, they were delicious.  And they actually warmed up great in the microwave for the next few days as we ate them for lunch.  We even sliced them in half and used them as the meat in a sandwich, which was really quite delicious.