Texas Ranger Beans and Family

As if working a sale for two days wasn't enough, we decided to have my sister and her family down while we packed the entire sale up. Half the work of having a sale is figuring out what to do with the pieces that didn't sell.

And, to keep my Dad busy while I was doing some cooking, they opened the sale and even sold more things on Sunday. My Dad is in the blue to the left. In the very back is my Mom, resting in the cool shade of the garage.

LR (Low Rider) and Harley had the best idea staying comfy on the sofa inside the house with the air on.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen I was busy mixing up Texas Ranger Beans and peeling potatoes for mashed potatoes, marinading steaks and prepping hamburger patties. My nephew made himself useful by starting my grill, your basic Weber charcoal grill. We set up for center heat with the sides left for cooler cooking.

Insert smell of freshly grilled corn here ... We had a very nice Sunday dinner with plenty for all the kids, no matter what age they were.

Texas Ranger Beans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tsp mild chili powder
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cans (15 oz.) beans w/pork
1 lg. onion, sliced and cold water soaked 20 min.
Optional: Molasses and Jalapeno (we only added molasses)
Mix everything together up to the beans.
After soaking onions, saute until tender and just beginning to brown on the edges. Add to sauce.
Add beans to sauce and pour into a baking dish.
(My Mom says to heat them on the stove and then bake them, so you could do that if you wanted)
I used a low, slow cook method with the oven set at 300 degrees. I made a double batch, so everything fit in a 9x13 baking dish. These probably baked slow for about 2 hours, coming out with a deep mahogany color on top.

When these get going, your whole house smells like southern BBQ. I think these would also be great in a cast iron dutch oven left in the coals from lunch so they would be ready for dinner. Add some easy hamburgers or use the marinade from the Secret Pork to season some steaks.

And, finish off with fireworks. Saturday night, after the More on 34 sale, Altona had fireworks at the local elementary school. We were going to drive up to my in-law's house (they are right next to the school), but honestly, I was sleeping long before fireworks started.

Laura