Labor Day BBQ

4. Have one last official BBQ on Labor Day!

(Note: If the weather is nice, you can keep grilling--this day is the bookend to the Mitchell family grilling season.)

September 3, 2013

Just a small family BBQ for two (or two and a half as Jessie Riley pointed out.)  Andrew had school that day so Labor Day kind of snuck up on us.  We had had a busy weekend cramming in lots of excitement as we began our Fall Bucket List for the year and so we forgot to spread the word that we were grilling.  The food was plentiful and yummy. 

Our complex has several nice patio areas for grilling.  It was woodland creature crossing as we were joined by all sorts of critters as we cooked up some tasty morsels.  Seriously.  It felt like we were in a Disney movie.

Our feast included BBQ ribs, grilled corn, potato salad and baked beans.  Let me include a yummy recipe from my Great Grandma Honeywell (via Grandma Martin AKA "Granny Slash") for baked beans along with some snippets of the emails that we exchanged as I procured this recipe the week before:

GREAT GRANDMA HONEYWELL’S BAKED BEANS

From Grandma Martin: “This originated with my mother and has evolved over the years.  It is another of those recipes where it’s difficult to be specific because so much is ‘to taste.’  [I] like mine on the sweeter side so I go heavier on the brown sugar than on the catsup—but please taste as you go!  Grandma Honeywell used to fish out the onion before serving, but Grandpa Jack liked the onion, so I left it in.”

2 cans Campbell’s baked beans                                  1 can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 T. molasses                                                               Brown sugar to taste

Catsup to taste                                                             ½ yellow onion, halved

3 slices bacon, cut in half

Mix baked beans, kidney beans, molasses, brown sugar and catsup in deep casserole dish.  Top with onion and bacon.  Cover and bake at 350° for 1¼ hours.

A final note from Grandma Martin: “That’s the recipe I use for our family get-togethers—seems quite enough with all the other goodies on the table.  I have such happy memories of the good times we had and it makes me very glad to know that my mother’s baked bean recipe is now a favorite with another generation hundreds of miles and years away."