Food is such an important part of my life. My family tends to find recipes in various cookbooks, magazines, etc. and rip them out and then put them in a folder "to try." These folders start to get full and thus I've decided to make a commitment to trying a new recipe from the folder each week. Last week was a chicken, rice and vegetable stir fry that was extremely disappointing as the picture looked very appetizing. The recipe also called for Kraft Greek Dressing which was nearly impossible to find and resulted in many trips to multiple grocery stores before finding it. This week I tried Root Beer Baked Beans from Bon Appetit magazine. All the ingredients sounded delicious and smelled delicious but as it started to all go together in a pot, I wasn't too sure about it anymore. It was worth the wait though! However, I think I will be eating beans for lunch and dinner for the next couple of days (I would probably cut the recipe in half next time.) Here's the recipe for quick review:

Ingredients

• 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook bacon in large ovenproof pot over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add onions to drippings in pot; cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add beans, root beer, vinegar, molasses, tomato paste, mustard, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper; mix. Stir in bacon; bring to boil. Transfer to oven; bake uncovered until liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.

And for you Grandma, here is the sodium content!

Nutritional Information

One serving contains the following:
Calories (kcal) 250.7
%Calories from Fat 12.0
Fat (g) 3.3
Saturated Fat (g) 0.6
Cholesterol (mg) 4.4
Carbohydrates (g) 45.3
Dietary Fiber (g) 9.1
Total Sugars (g) 15.9
Net Carbs (g) 36.3
Protein (g) 11.6
Sodium (mg) 368.1

Let me know if anybody decides to try this recipe and how it turns out for you :) I'm not sure what next week's recipe is going to be yet but I know there are a lot to choose from from the folder!