Summer Time Favorites: Baked Beans

 When I think of a summer BBQ, there are few foods that must be on the list.
Baked beans is definitely one of them!
When we first moved to Ghana I was so excited to see that they sold canned baked beans! I decided that the food adjustment wouldn't be too bad after all.
And then.
Hmmmmmm.
Well, first, I found out that these are British baked beans, which basically means that they are beans in tomato sauce. NOT. SO. YUMMY.
Sorry if you're British!
And secondly, they are either eaten for breakfast or mixed with lettuce and put on rice!
EVEN MORE NOT YUMMY!
Then one day my hubby had an idea....ask my mother! Maybe she had an idea of how to make these baked beans into something that tasted a bit more like "real" baked beans.
Sure enough, mama had the answer!
*I must add, this recipe may only work for people in Ghana, because I have no idea if you have beans in tomato sauce where you live. But you might be surprised! Look around!

Baked Beans

4 slice bacon (this is optional, we don't have bacon here and these still taste great!)
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 cans baked beans in tomato sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. wet or dry mustard

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Cook onion in bacon drippings until tender {if not using bacon, saute onions in whatever fat you prefer}.
Mix together baked beans, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, crumbled bacon, and cooked onions in glass casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45 min. to 1 hr. 15 min. {I know that is a big variance. The original recipe said 1-1 1/2 hrs., but it has never taken me more than 45 minutes, so you may need to play with the time a bit to find what works in your oven}.
When hot and bubbly, remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes.
Stir in yummy, crusty stuff on top {have no idea what it should be called, but sure tastes good!} and
enjoy!