Many people have traditional dishes that they prepare for holidays. Eric is one of those people. I used to be one of those people. Since starting this blog (thanks, Kelly!) I am less traditional and more experimental when it comes to food.

For the summer holidays and barbecues, tradition would dictate baked beans. Eric is famous (with our friends and family!) for his crock pot baked beans. With good reason. They are excellent, they use four kinds of beans, they have jalapeno in them, and they are made in the crock pot. But even though this is our traditional recipe for the summer season, I put out a blog twice a week, every week, and while I like to reference past recipes, I need new recipes two times a week. So I need to continuously try and taste test different foods.

To start off the 2017 summer season, I wanted another baked bean recipe in our repertoire. The spin on this version of the summer holiday & cookout classic is the addition of rhubarb. And my own twist on it is using marinara sauce in place of the tomato sauce the original recipe used as an ingredient. I was happily surprised to find myself enjoying these beans! Our future summer celebrations may have to include both of these baked bean recipes!:

Rhubarb Baked Beans

Rhubarb Baked Beans (adapted from midwestliving.com)   Yield: 5 cups, about 8 to 10 servings, Hands On Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) rhubarb, chopped
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 15-ounce cans small white beans or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 ounces marinara or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Cook the bacon.

In the reserved drippings, cook the rhubarb and onion for about 2 minutes or until they are tender. Stir in the salt and ginger and cook it all together for 1 minute more.

Saute the rhubarb & onion in the bacon drippings.

Stir in the beans, sauce, brown sugar, mustard, and cooked bacon.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan.

Transfer the beans to a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.

Transfer the beans to a baking dish.

Cover the dish and bake the beans for 25 minutes. Uncover the beans and bake them for 20 minutes more or until the surface of the beans loses its wet appearance. Serve immediately.

A summer event must!

Baked beans go with all summer events!  ~Linda

Rhubarb Baked Beans (adapted from midwestliving.com)   Yield: 5 cups, about 8 to 10 servings, Hands On Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) rhubarb, chopped
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 15-ounce cans small white beans or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 ounces marinara or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon. In the reserved drippings, cook the rhubarb and onion for about 2 minutes or until they are tender. Stir in the salt and ginger and cook it all together for 1 minute more.

Stir in the beans, sauce, brown sugar, mustard, and cooked bacon. Transfer the beans to a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Cover the dish and bake the beans for 25 minutes. Uncover the beans and bake them for 20 minutes more or until the surface of the beans loses its wet appearance. Serve immediately.