Beans and Cornbread

In preparing this dish I decided to put my own spin on it but still using the recipe in the PW cookbook as my guide. I opted for using a crock pot so I would be able keep the beans warm since I prepared the dish early in the afternoon. I also used regular bacon instead of the thick-cut bacon because I had it already. In the cookbook, she gave additional seasonings that could be used and I chose to use the following: 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic, and ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I also added some additional seasonings I thought would add to the taste. I added 1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic, ½ a red onion (she recommended it as an optional garnish) and a small amount of parsley. I like to season my food before I cook it, so I added all of these seasonings as well as the salt and pepper at the start of the cooking process. After the beans cooked for 3 hours, I then turned the temperature on the crock pot to keep warm and let them continue to simmer until dinner time. Cook it and forget it! :)

I hate to admit this but I took the easy way out with the cornbread. I used a pre-packaged cornbread mix, but I did try to stick with the theme. I bought “Pioneer” brand. I topped the beans off with fat free sour cream and cheddar cheese. When my husband ate his second serving he did not add the cheese and said he liked it better that way. All in all, the dish was very tasty and easy to make.