Janet's Apple Baked Beans ....simple and delicious side from my table to yours
6 cups Chicken stock or part water and part stock making up the 6 cups
1 tsp salt
3 large tart apples pared and and large diced
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (if you require a more syrupy mixture add a little more sugar)
1/4 lb. Bacon either regular or turkey ...I used regular but cut most of the fat off
Preheat oven to 265º/130º/1/2 gas mark
Wash and sort dried beans then I like to soak them overnight in 6 cups of water
In the morning I rinse and cook them in the chicken stock or mixture of stock and water adding the salt and bring to a boil ...then cover and simmer for 2 hours
Drain SAVING the cooking liquid
Arrange beans and apple slices in alternate layers, sprinkling sugar over each layer, in a greased casserole (or for easy clean up a foil dish approx. 13" x 8" ( I spray my casserole with non-stick spray)
Pour over 3 cups of the cooking liquid and top with pieces of bacon or long strips of bacon whatever is your preference
Bake, covered, in a very slow oven (265º/130º/1/2 mark gas) for 3 hours then take cover off and cook for 1 more hour or until they have thickened up and browned
If they become dry in cooking add more hot cooking liquid or hot water
There should be enough liquid on the beans to make a gravy-like sauce over them
We had them tonight with shredded chicken with Carolina BBQ sauce ...so great together
I make the full recipe even though there are just two of us then I freeze the left over beans in portions for two and when I want them I just take them out of the freezer in the morning then pop them in a small oven proof dish and reheat them, uncovered, for 20 minutes at 400/200/6 gas mark ..
Hope you can find some time to make them, adults and children will love them ...they are very yummy and not sweet
Happy cooking