Weekend Recap and a Recipe!

It always seems like my long weekends go by faster than a normal weekend. Maybe it's because I'm just having too much fun. Maybe so but I don't regret a minute of it. One thing I do know is that I am so not ready to be back at work. Let's put it off a little longer by reminiscing the weekend and clogging our arteries with a delicious baked bean recipe shall we? 

Friday evening was quiet, a much needed break from the hectic week both Kevin and I had. Saturday morning, I was up bright and early to meet my gals, coined the "real housewives of Harrisonburg," for some wine tasting up at our local resort. 

Heather, Michelle, Lindsey, me, Katie and Charlie.
(Charlie was an honorary member of the real housewives for the weekend.) 

Lindsey and Michelle

In true blogger style, I pressured my friends into posing for a few pictures and I'm glad I did because my camera battery died although it did force me to enjoy the day. As hot as it was outside, a few glasses of wine was all I needed to loosen up and not care that we all looked a hot sweaty mess.

Sunday afternoon, the hubs and I headed out for a cook-out at my best friend's house. We arrived around three and started with a few games of cornhole (or bean bag toss, whatever you want to call it.) while Katie's dad fixed the burgers on the grill. 

Katie and I

Kevin, David and Charlie

Katie's mom spectating

Fixing the burgers

By the time it was ready to eat, we came inside just in time to catch Katie's grandmother taking Jell-O shots. 

All in all, it was an excellent few days with excellent friends, as usual. I'm a lucky girl to be surrounded by so many amazing people. Why can't we do this every weekend?

Now, as promised, I have the most delicious baked bean recipe for you and all you need are a few simple ingredients. I prepared a crock-pot full of these beans for the cook-out and came home with none so what does that tell you? 

You'll need the following:

• 28 oz. can of your favorite brand baked beans
• 1/2 package of bacon
• 1/2 pound of ground beef
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2-1 green pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Keep in mind, I doubled this recipe, that's why you see two cans of beans pictured and an onion the size of my head.

First things first, you'll want to prepare your ingredients. Dice your onion and pepper

Then dice up your bacon. Tip: to make it easier to cut, pop it in the freezer for about 20 minutes!

Once prepped, cook your bacon until it's crisp then set it aside to drain on a paper towel.

In the same pan you just cooked your bacon in, go ahead and sauté your beef and veggies. You can cook them together or separately, I've done it both ways and it's turned out just fine. We're not on Food Network here, it's all getting thrown together in the end anyway.

Note: ground beef is hard to take a picture of and kind of ugly.

Drain your beef if needed and then go ahead and combine all of your ingredients together in your crock pot, adding in your brown sugar, ketchup, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper.

And, of course - the beans.

Action shot. 

Stir vigorously. Set your crock pot on high for a few hours or on low for several hours. I know, this recipe is very precise but I trust you can figure it out. Basically, once the stuff is hot, you can eat it.

Finally, devour and enjoy.

I'm not sure where this recipe originated, it was given to me by Katie's mother and I know she received it from a friend of hers. They both prefer to make their version in the oven while I like to let mine simmer in my crock pot, either way, you won't be disappointed! The other day, I did spot a similar recipe on Kevin and Amanda's blog only they layer their bacon on the beans whereas my recipe calls for it diced and cooked. 

The way I see it, bacon is involved so all is right in the world. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and as the daughter, niece, and friend of military personnel, I have to take a moment and thank all those who have served for our country. We wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for you.