This is one of those ultra easy meals for leftover beef or frozen cooked hamburger (or burgers from last night's grill out). I had a little over 1/2 lb of shredded beef and wanted to use it for Sunday dinner... The only thing that kept popping into my head was baked beans, so wa-la, I mixed the two. This Leftover Beef and BBQ Baked Beans slow cooker meal uses canned beans and your favorite BBQ sauce to create a quick meal that's simply heated in the crock pot so it's ready to eat when you are. It's a nice summer alternative to chili and easily scaled down for one or two. What I do a little differently, start it on high for an hour and a half, then take the lid off. This allows it to stay hot while some of the excess moisture cooks down, creating a little more of an oven atmosphere without heating up the kitchen-we like that in summer:@)
Why grated onion?
Because while I'm using the crock pot, this isn't a true 4-8 hour cook time and I don't want raw onion.
If I'm not using diced onion, why diced peppers?
Because we don't mind if they stay a bit firm and under cooked.
I topped mine with my Bread and Butter Pickled Jalapenos.
The only thing that could make this meal any easier would be using a slow cooker liner:@)
Leftover Beef and BBQ Baked Beans
1/2-3/4 lb cooked beef or hamburger meat
(2) 15 oz cans baked beans, lightly drained
(2) 15 oz cans beans of choice, kidney, cannellini, pinto, great northern, etc, drained and rinsed
2 tsp ~finely grated~ onion-don't stress over this, just grate it into the vessel and eyeball it
2 Tblsp ~very finely diced~ green pepper, bell, jalapeno, banana, etc.
3/4 C BBQ sauce + a squirt when done cooking
Optional but very good: Cooked and crumbled bacon, as much as you'd like-you know your crowd...
Optional: Pickles, pickled jalapenos, hot sauce for serving
- Add everything to slow cooker vessel, mix well.
- Cover, turn to high for 1 1/2 hours, remove lid. If using cooked bacon add it now.
- Allow to cook on high until you're ready for dinner, easily 2-3 hour window, stirring occasionally.
- Add one last squirt of BBQ sauce before serving and stir, serve with pickles and hot sauce if desired.
Let's use up those leftovers and have a happy day:@)
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