Quick baked beans

On a rare day every now and again someone who won't be named decides that naps are not required. On these days, by the time the clock hits 4.30pm she wiggles herself onto my lap and refuses to move. Thankfully these nights don't happen often, but when they do it needs to be a quick dinner… something I can cook while a certain small person is attached to my legs.

Normally when I make homemade baked beans there is a bunch of ingredients, some sautéing here, simmer this, wait for something to boil etc. etc. enough to require actually moving around the kitchen which can't happen with my little concrete block weighing me down, so now I've come up with a  smokey baked bean recipe, a cheap and quick substitute that can be made in just under 15 minutes.

I used a can of cannelini beans and a can of red kidney beans, but you could just do 2 cans of cannelini if you have or 2 of red kidney beans.

Quick Baked Beans

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and ground pepper
1 can of cannellini and 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup tomato ketchup
1/3 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup of molasses or if you don't have use 1/3 cup maple syrup mixed with 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic and cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes
2. Add beans and 1/2 cup water to the pot and simmer for 6 minutes
3. Add your maple syrup/brown sugar mixture or molasses, ketchup, BBQ sauce and mustard to the pot with some salt and pepper
4. Simmer for approx. 5 minutes until sauce has thickened

We served ours up last week with some of Bill Grangers Sweetcorn Fritters (recipe)