Easiest Ever "Baked" Beans

Hi!  How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was busy yet FUN!  On Saturday Noah's soccer team was in a local tournament which had them competing in 2 games.  They tied & won respectively.  He also had a ball hockey game and a hockey try out.  At the end of the day, as I was running him a nice bath, he informed me that every bone in his body hurt.  I reminded him that we tried to talk him out of one of the hockey time slots but he insisted on playing.  He then looks at me all matter of fact and says that just because he is sore doesn't mean that he was complaining.  HA!  His soccer team also played a game Sunday morning but lost so they were put out of the tourney.  Bummer for the boys, but that meant I had the rest of the day to chill....as did he!  Here's a group shot of his team this year;

It was a crisp weekend but thankfully sunny and dry! 

Moving on now to the meaning behind the title.....A few months back I was watching Jamie Oliver on the Food Network was I was huffing it on the elliptical.  One of the side dishes he made was a simple, quick "baked" bean recipe.  I've made this many times since, especially when I'm in need of a change from rice/quinoa/mac n cheese (that last one is for the fam).  On Friday I finally remembered to get my camera out and photograph the process!  So; here's how I make it! (You can just click on the link to see the original....remember; this is NOT my recipe!)

1)  Saute 4 slices of bacon.  I normally use reduced salt bacon because that's what I buy for regular use....as in bacon & eggs.  Cook the bacon until it's just about crisp.  At this point it's up to you if you drain off the drippings or not.  Add 2 chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir it up...

I let this cook down for about 5 minutes before adding a 19oz can of white kidney beans, liquid and all.  I'm sure you could use whatever bean you'd like here.  Note that I'm not using the "butter beans" that Jamie uses...

Let simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes.  The bean liquid will turn into a delicious thick & flavourful sauce.  This batch was paired with BBQ steak, but in my opinion, the beans stole the show!

You can see here how the sauce really thickens up quite a bit.  As far a spices go, I usually just add some pepper and chili powder, but it's easy enough to play around with the flavours you like.

One last thing; does anybody know what this is?  

I fell in love with the colour, bought 2, took them home and when Jason asked what they were I couldn't answer him because I just know know!  HELP!

And with that I am off!  Enjoy the week.....I'll try to pop back in with another post before the end of it.  :)

Bye for now!!