Beefed Up Baked Beans – (and a conversation about nicknames)
If you use Facebook, please “like” this post by clicking the button above. Thanks so much!
This morning as I was walking through the den going on my daily dirty clothes scavenger hunt, someone said the name “Sally Mae” on tv and I stopped and looked up in surprise just as if they’d said “Christy Jordan”. I chuckled at myself as the memories flooded back of all the times I’ve answered to Sally Mae in my life.
I have no idea who Sally Mae is but during my childhood, I must have looked an awful lot like her. “Come on in here, Sally Mae” Mama would sing out as she opened the door when I ran in from playing to grab a quick cup of Kool Aid. Or she’d call out to me after running my bath at the end of a long day of playing “Get on in here and get in the tub, Sally Mae”. I never questioned it, even though in retrospect I realize my sister answered to it just as willingly as I did.
I got to thinking about that nickname as I read an email from Elaine Wong who mentioned how her Grandpa used to call her “Lanie girl”. There is something about a nickname that shows an acceptance, familiarity, and its sort of a way of saying “You and I are special”. It’s like in Little House On The Prairie (I think everyone should be required to watch the entire run of Little House On The Prairie before they are allowed to be an adult). Did you notice how Laura, who had been called Laura all of her life, suddenly became “Beth” to Almonzo and Almonzo suddenly became “Manley” to Laura? They wanted a special connection and way of talking ot each other that set them apart and so called each other by their middle names instead of first. Surely we all know what Laura’s Pa called her, do you rememeber it? Half Pint. She was his little tagalong, his best helper, and calling her what everyone else did just wouldn’t do. She was his Half Pint.
I received my most prominent nickname shortly after I was born, the one my dad still calls me to this day (I don’t know if I’ve ever heard him call me Christy) and wrote about the story behind it in my book (page 171). It’s funny because every now and then I’ll be out and someone I don’t know will call me that, I instantly know where they got it from!
I have so many nicknames for my kids it isn’t even funny but they willingly answer to each and every one. My favorite nickname for myself to date though is Ma, Mom, or Mama, whichever one the two of them feel like calling me on any given day. I’ll never forget though, about two years ago, when Katy Rose asked “Mama, when you were born, how come Grandmama named you ‘mama’?”
I’d love to hear about your nicknames in the comments below and especially the stories behind them! While we work on that, let me show you how to make some awfully good baked beans. This is how my mother has always made hers and I can make a meal out of the beans alone! They get rave reviews at any barbecue and would be the perfect addition to your fourth of July menu. They’re also a breeze to throw together, always a plus in my book ~grins~.
You’ll need: ground beef (cooked and drained), 28 ounce can baked beans (any kind you want), 2-15 ounce cans Navy beans, onion, barbecue sauce, mustard, worcestershire sauce, bacon, and salt and pepper.
*Instead of the 28 ounce can of baked beans you can use 2-15 ounce cans.
Now I have my ground beef already cooked and in the freezer but if yours isn’t you wanna go ahead and cook that before this step.
Place beans (liquid and all) and ground beef in a large mixing bowl.
This is the largest of a set of vintage Pyrex bowls called “New Dot”. This one was hard to come by but it completed my set. The others are blue, red, and yellow. Just in case you wanted to know that…
A lot of folks have asked me about my salt and pepper shakers. They came from Cracker Barrel and I got them on Clearance 
I could chat all day but I guess you came here for a recipe so I’ll get on with it…
(~whispers~ but the plate below is a Corelle pattern called “Memphis”)
Chop up your onion
Add to the bowl all of your other ingredients except for the bacon.
Stir it all together really well.
Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray
And pour your bean mixture into the dish.
Top with 3-4 strips of uncooked bacon.
Place this in the oven at 350 for 45-60 minutes.
During that time your husband, who has repeatedly stated that he does not like baked beans, will ask you “Man, what are you cooking? That smells good!”. When you tell him it is baked beans he will say “Oh….really?” and look at you in disbelief. This scenario will repeat itself ever ten minutes or so until the beans are done and then your husband, who has repeatedly stated that he does not like baked beans, will magically appear in the kitchen with a bowl and a spoon.
At least that is how it goes down at my house
Enjoy!
Now pull up a chair while this is cooking and chat with me about your nicknames in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 28 ounce can baked beans, undrained (or 2-15 ounce cans)
- 2-15 ounce cans navy beans, undrained (or bean of your choice)
- 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained (can substitute cooked shredded pork bbq if you like)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup Barbecue sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 to 4 slices uncooked bacon
Instructions
- Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Stir together all ingredients except for the bacon. Spoon into baking dish. Top with strips of bacon. Place in 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes.
- This is a very forgiving recipe so feel free to use what you have on hand and modify it to suit your family's tastes.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Pluginhttp://www.southernplate.com/2011/06/beefed-up-baked-beans.html
Ingredients
- 28 ounce can baked beans, undrained (or 2-15 ounce cans)
- 2-15 ounce cans navy beans, undrained (or bean of your choice)
- 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained (can substitute cooked shredded pork bbq if you like)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup Barbecue sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 to 4 slices uncooked bacon
Instructions
- Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Stir together all ingredients except for the bacon. Spoon into baking dish. Top with strips of bacon. Place in 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes.
- This is a very forgiving recipe so feel free to use what you have on hand and modify it to suit your family's tastes.
Print This Recipe
Get rich quick … Count your blessings!
Submitted by Debbie Strum. Submit your quote or read hundreds of others by clicking here. Don’t worry if you have a good quote and you think it may have already been submitted, that just lets me know that it bears repeating.
Related posts:
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jun 27 2011. Filed under Side Dishes, Southern Classics.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
When my father came home from WWII (lifelong bachelor @ 44:)), he and his brother were farming some land on the Cape Fear River close to Wilmington, NC. They did not have the money for a tractor, so they plowed with a really stubborn mule, Sissis Jody. When he came home to Alabama he met my Mother and they married. When I came along they named me Frances Marie, but Daddy called me Sissis Jody Frances Marie because he said I was so stubborn….he was right:)!
My dad always called me Sugar because I loved candy! I still have such a ridiculous sweet tooth that it is almost embarrassing! My Father passed away when my youngest daughter was 2 but when she was 13 and ready to pick a new Christmas stocking, she picked one that said Sugar on the top and I teared up because I knew my dad would love that! We have a program at work that tracks our leads for the day and it is called, you guessed it, Sugar! Love my nickname that is so very special to my daddy and me!
And I forgot to mention this…this recipe was such a delight for me to find! My prayer mom for my class brought this to me twice when my husband, now passed away, was very ill. My family loved this recipe and my sweet tooth was delighted
Absolutely cannot wait to make this for my family! Thank you so much!
I was born month premature, so I weighed about 5 lbs. My father could hold me cupped in one hand, so I was “Peanut”.
recipe looks fantastic, it’s on my list of things to fix w/bbq this summer! My Grandpa always called me Deedee, when I asked him why, he told me I looked like a Deedee
I’m sure it had something to do with my middle name since it’s Denise. At work nicknames are very common. I have a co-worker that nicknames everyone in the office, she calls me SheShe. Now most people at the department refer to me by that name 
. I very rarely answer to the name Sheila at work since given the nickname and since there is another Shiela (note spelling) there. My son Clayton, is called Clay, babe, sweetie, boogerbutt (a lot), but his favorite is sunshine. He himself decided that because of me singing to him at bedtime, you guessed it, “You are my Sunshine”.
I was my Dad’s shadow and went everywhere with him. As a small child I was his Baby Girl…his Little Pal and as a teen I became his Ramblingirl. He and I had some wonderful adventures and made some very special memories together fishing, hunting, camping and treasure hunting. With his own hands he built a boat-house for us to spend lazy days on the river …it’s name was “Little Pal” … and the fastest boat on the bay … who’s name was “Ramblingirl”. We spent many wonderful days on both. He passed away when I was a young woman but to this day, I’m still known as Ramblingirl to my friends and to those who read my fan-fiction stories on asjfanfiction.wetpaint.com.
He made his baked beans the same as the recipe except for the addition of the ground beef. I’m going to try it that way at our next BBQ.
Yesterday I posted that my Grandmother used the same mashed potato recipe and how much your stories reminded me of my childhood. I am even more amazed now that I see these baked beans. My Mama always made them with the hamburger, onion and the bacon and everyone loved them. It is something that I still do today. While I am blessed to still have my Grandmother at 92, I lost my precious mother at 52. Because she is no longer here, each recipe brings up many special memories. Everyone I met as an adult just calls me “Ronda”, but people from my childhood and family call me “Ronda Faye”. In high school I had a teacher that decided to call me Rhoda…..so it stuck and most of my high school friends did too. And when I call or see my Daddy…it is always “Hey Little Girl”. Thanks for all you wonderful posts.
I was born in the Panama CZ to wonderful parents. My dad was stationed there (he served in the Army for 20 years). Because of this, he always called me his “Little Panahoochee”. “I am not a Panahoochee, I HAVE MY CITIZENSHIP” *stamps foot! Was ALWAYS my response – he loved to get a rise out of me – and it always worked! He passed almost 4 years ago. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe, and allowing me to reminisce. Aren’t memeories wonderful?!!
My daddy called me Annie B from Tennessee. I was born and raised in Alabama and never visited Tennessee until I was married so I guess the reason he called me that was because my name was Ann and it sounded good. He also had a little tune he hummed after he said that. My Daddy passed away 27 years ago so this brought back sweet memories
a very good recipe .have made it several times and its very good for church dinners .
My daddy always called me Sissie – I don’t know why or how it came to be, but that was my daddy’s name for me. He is 87 now and an invalid with alzheimer’s but last year when I didn’t think he recognized me anymore and he rarely said a word, my brother asked him who I was and he said “Sissie”! Quite touching for me.
Christy, a number of years ago I worked for a restaurant chain called “Rockola Cafe” ( not sure if they are still in business). We made beans from a recipe almost exactly like yours, except they were just cooked in a huge pot and not baked. My family have all been making “Rockola Beans” for cookouts and get-togethers since then. Maybe now we will call them “Christy Beans”. Regardless of the name, they are delicious!
My dad would call me “Grace” as I had none. Now a mom of five, My son Anthony is George, BobbieJo is BobbieLou, Dennis is now Bubba (he was a 12lb baby) I earned the right to call that child Bubba. Lol CassieAnne is Lucy or Lou…reason we live in the hometown community of Lucille Ball and she from the time she could love tv has loved Lucy. Her 13 yr old personality is much of the real Lucy. My Mackenzie LeighAnne is Mackenzie to most but to Momma she is Mack Baby…Thank you Christy for the awesome posts and recipes even here in Western NY we love our Southern Cooking.
Well..ya’ll have me bawlin’ here. Love these stories!!
cooking these this weekend for our family reunion
I am the oldest of 6 children so my nickname became Sissy. This nickname stuck with me thru adulthood and then I became Aunt Sissy. At almost 62 I love my nickname.
My family has a habit of calling each other either “Gertie” or “Polly Butcher”. Not sure where “Gertie” came from, but apparently “Polly Butcher” was a woman who lived in the same town where my Mom and her siblings grew up. My family mostly uses the name “Polly” when someone is being stubborn, so I assume she must have been a stubborn woman. I have answered to both names many times!!
I have been making these beans for many years and had never thought to put pork bbq in them instead of ground beef. What a great idea and one that will be done tomorrow when we’re cooking out and waiting for the Alabama game to come on TV, (husband Bill is a HUGE Alabama fan). Thanks also for the potato recipe as I love garlic mashed potatoes.
I really enjoy reading your posts and don’t cook often any more, but share the recipes with my grown children. This baked bean recipe is similar to one I “grew up” with, except without the ground meat. I’ll have to try that! My family likes my baked beans a lot, so I can see how these would be a favorite of many. My nickname came from my brother, who was just 14 months older than I. Once he was old enough to call me something, he called me, “Doll Baby” because he thought I was a toy! The “Baby” was dropped quickly, but the “Doll” stuck for life. He calls me that to this day and we are both well into our 60′s now. All of my mother’s and daddy’s families (rural areas) called me that until after I married and some still do. In fact, when my wedding invitations were sent, some were uncertain who the bride was because my real name was used (of course)! It could be worse!!!!
My grandpa called me Whistle Britches. I’m not sure why, but it was what he called me for as far back as I can remember. I was his oldest grandchild, and as far as I was concerned, the sun rose and set in him. Some of my fondest memories involve him, me and a sunny spot with fishing poles. I lost him to cancer when I was in my early 20′s (I’m now 56) and I still miss him to this day.
We had already decided on a name for my son before he was born but when he came I called him Boo or boo bah don’t know where it came from it just fitted and I still call him that now nearly ten years later. His real name is Daniel John
I was the only girl with 5 brothers…My Daddy thought I hung the moon.He called me “Miss Priss”,because I was so “prissy”,it eventually became Prissy-or- Priss. One of my brothers ALWAYS called me ANN….he was 7 when I was born, Lana was difficult for a little boy with a lisp, so ANN it was. He was the only person who called me that,he passed away 4 years ago,and I sorely miss hearing the familiar…ANN….
I grew up in a family of pranksters and jokers. When I was about 7 we had a large family reunion at a state park. While I remember camping with all of my relatives and having a blast, but don’t remember the circumstances of how I picked up my nickname. I just remember my nickname echoing throughout the park as my uncles called me…..J-nut! It’s stayed with me through the years, as evidenced by my email address. Bless you for all of the wonderful stories and recipes
Just thinking of nicknames brings a tear to my eyes because my Dad only had a 2nd grade education and he could never pronounce Shelia so he always called me Nubbins. He would never tell me why and of course it doesn’t matter because it was always said with love. My Grandmother said it was because I was the baby with three older brothers all over 6 ft tall and I’m only 5’2″ so I was the nub.
I am the youngest out of 4 kids from my dad and my moms only biological child. I was a big momma’s girl growing up and my dad came up with a nickname for me and only he would call me it. It was Crystal-pistol-packin-momma-bug. He came up with the name since i was a momma girl and she basically had to carry me around everywhere. My dad past a year ago and i miss him dearly.
My name is Carmon, but my sister Terrie, 2 at the time of my birth could not say my name. Since I was a Christmas time baby who came home from the hospital Dec. 25th, my family told her I was her little “Candy Cane” for Christmas. She started calling me Candy, and it stuck. Only my oldest sister calls me Carm, the rest of the world knows me only as Candy! I remember when I was in grade school several times my new teachers would call roll….Carmon..???? I would forget that was my name, since I never heard it used! I had to straighten them out fast. lol
My daddy called me Margo, my Mama called me Maggie Girl, my sisters call me Mag and my brother calls me Sis, but he calls all four of his sisters Sis…anyway only Daddy ever called me Margo, ! and I loved being Mama`s Maggie Girl. Mom passed in 2007 and Daddy in 2008, I miss them more than I ever thought possible!….well tears are starting, so…
I love the recipe! Yummy!
My mama use to make beans like this. Sometimes she even added smoked sausage to it! My daddy called me Goose when i was little. I dont know why. He still calls me that sometimes. He also calls me Baby Girl. My two nieces call me Baba! As you can see my real name is Roxanne so i dont know where Baba came from. I love it. They are now 32 years and almost 28 years old and they still call me that!
I just love reading your posts and all the comments. Of course all the recipes are like a bonus!. I’ve had a few nicknames from my Daddy. Sour pickle, when I was small I always had my bottom lip pooched out & that is where that one came from. When I was a teenager he changed it to Veronica Lake, because of how I wore my hair. He is gone to heaven now andcan’t wait to see hime again. Thank you for the posts & the memories.
Love your stories – remind me so much of my youth. Speaking of which, my Mom and Dad had 2 boys 12 and 14 and decided they wanted a girl (in case there was a war and they lost their boys — yes, morbid I know) .. so they had me (yes, a girl). Wouldn’t you think my Daddy would call me Princess or Sweetie or something girly? Nope — called me “Chuck” all my life. Never called me Brenda. My ex- husband one time when we were driving down home for the weekend went into a gas station to get cigarettes, came back to the car and handed me a cigarette lighter with a name on it … yep, Chuck. Sweetest thing he ever did. My Daddy had been dead for several years when my ex did this.
Thank you so much Chuck! That just made me giggle because it sounds so much like something our family would do.