Calico Beans and Rice

Welcome back! I hope you're up for some yummy goodness!

My lovely friend Greta gave me this recipe when Dan and I got married. It's GOOD. It's a little bit less "from scratch" than some of my other recipes, and it's definitely fattening, but it is also a scrumptious winter dinner that warms my tummy and my soul!

Shall we begin?

You will need:

1/2 pound bacon, 1 pound hamburger, 2/3 of an onion, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder, 2 teaspoons cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 16 ounce can pork and beans, 16 ounce can (or 1 1/2 cups frozen, in my case) black beans, 16 ounce can (or 1 1/2 cups frozen) pinto beans, and enough brown rice and water for everyone to have about a cup. This recipe can serve up to six people.

Start by frying the bacon on medium heat until it's nice and crispy, turning once. Mmmm!

I once heard someone say that bacon is the chocolate of meats. Amen.

While the bacon is frying, chop the onion.

When the bacon is crispy, move it to paper towels to drain.

Then put the hamburger in your pan and fry it in the bacon grease. I know, it's sinful. You might want to take your pan off the burner for a minute before adding the bacon, so that the grease won't splatter too much.

While the hamburger is frying, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Pour the black beans (drained, if they're canned), pinto beans (drained), and pork and beans (not drained) into a 9x13 baking dish.

Stir them together.

When the hamburger is mostly brown, add the onion. Saute until the onion is translucent.

Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar, ketchup, mustard powder, cider vinegar, and salt.

Pour the sauce over the beans and stir again.

Once the onion is ready, remove the hamburger and onion mixture from the pan and drain it on paper towels.

Then add the hamburger to the 9x13. Crumble the bacon and add it, as well. Stir thoroughly.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it for one hour.

As soon as the dish is in the oven, put your water on the stove to make brown rice. At this rate, they should be done at exactly the same time.

When the hour is up, the dish is ready to serve. Mmmm! It smells good!

To serve, spoon some rice onto each plate, followed by a generous amount of beans.

Enjoy!

Here's the recipe text:

Calico Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
½ pound bacon
1 pound hamburger
2/3 of a medium onion, chopped
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
16 ounce can pork and beans, undrained
16 ounce can (or 1 ½ c. frozen, thawed) pinto beans, drained
16 ounce can (or 1 ½ c. frozen, thawed) black beans, drained
1 cup brown rice
2 ½ cups water

Fry the bacon over medium heat until crispy. While it’s frying, combine the brown sugar, ketchup, dry mustard powder, cider vinegar, and salt in a small bowl or Pyrex measuring glass. Pour the pork and beans, pinto beans, and black beans into a 9x13 baking dish, and pour the ketchup sauce over them, mixing thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove the bacon from the pan and let it cool on a paper towel. Carefully add the hamburger to the pan and start to brown it, breaking it up into small bits. Chop the onion and add it to the hamburger. When the bacon is cool, crumble it into the 9x13 and stir. When the hamburger is fully browned and the onion is tender, drain both on paper towels and then add to the 9x13, stirring again. Cover with foil and place in oven, setting timer for 1 hour. Put water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Add rice, cover, and turn heat down to low. Both beans and rice will be ready when the timer goes off.