Playing Catch-Up ... A Recipe and a Loss

Dear Reader,

I can hardly believe I have been "away" from the blogging world for almost 2 months!

I have been busy

....working....baking....growing things...watering...organizing....spending more time with family....painting....creating notecards from my paintings....napping....walking....trying to grow in my walk with God...reading...cooking...Taking my entourage (not sure I spelled that correctly) of Parading Chicks to the Saturday morning market in downtown Columbus, GA....

but didn't realize I had been "away" quite this long.

On a sad note,

those of you who have been "visiting" my blog for a while may remember

Harry

Harry is no longer with us....

He was run over by a speeding car on the country back road on which we live.

Hubby found him .

Knowing Harry, he was probably completely absorbed in some strange small bug

or smell that he found in the middle of the road and never saw what hit him.

We had him for 6 years.

He is buried in the pine forest behind our home

with Bear, Blue, Sir Francis, Kate One, and Hamp...

 Our other dogs (Sapp, Kate Two, Bud, and Maggie)

 acted sad for several days after he died...as if they knew.

We all miss him very much...

Hmm...I didn't intend to "talk" about Harry when I started this post. 

I had every intention of giving you a wonderful recipe I found in Better Homes and Gardens magazine for fancy baked beans ...I took it to a family gathering at my sister's home ... It was quite a hit:)

Not sure how I deviated to Harry.....

Oh well...here's the recipe ....

might be just the thing to go with your Fourth of July Barbeque!

CALICO BEANS

Serves a crowd.

1 (15-oz) can green lima beans

1 (15-oz) can large lima beans (or butter beans)

1 (15-oz) can black beans

1 (15-oz) can red beans

1 (15-oz) can great northern beans

1 (28-oz) can pork and beans

½ lb. bacon (cut into 1-inch pieces)

2 medium onions(chopped) (I used one large)

¾ cup brn sugar (I only used about ½ cup)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup vinegar

½ cup ketchup

Fry bacon pieces.  Just as bacon begins to crisp, add the onions and fry together.  Then add all the other ingredients (except for the beans) and simmer for about 5 minutes. 



Meanwhile, drain the cans of beans, reserving the liquid, and put them in a large casserole dish.



Pour the frying pan mixture over the beans and mix thoroughly. 

Add enough of the reserved liquid to barely cover the beans

and bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 1 ½  hours,

checking periodically and adding more liquid as needed to keep the beans from drying out.

ENJOY!!

Have a lovely day!

-Mug

P.S.  It's good to be "back"....I'll be visiting all my blog friends over the next few days:)