Labor Day Picnic: Meaty Baked Beans

Meaty Baked Beans

This hardy side-dish is the traditional compliment to a Labor Day picnic.  Using the slow cooker, you will not be heating up the kitchen on these last hot days of summer.  In this version, I used leftover baked tenderloin and leftover grilled hot dogs, but using chopped up roast beef is my favorite. Living in a BBQ town that debates the best sauce, this recipe allows you to use your preferred barbeque sauce making it your own unique offering.

2 cups cooked meat, chopped (roast beef, tenderloin, hot dogs)

2 cans pork and beans

1 onion, chopped

½ cup barbeque sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons mustard

1 teaspoon cornstarch

In a slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray, mix together the meat, beans, onion, barbeque sauce, brown sugar and mustard.  Cook on high for 3 hours.  In a small mixing bowl, mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of the cooked bean mixture and stir back into the slow cooker.  Cook an additional 15 minutes to thicken. Serves 6