Just like Mom’s baked beans

Years ago, when we were at the beach with our family for the July 4th holiday, I had a craving for my mother’s baked beans. Although I remembered how to make them, I knew I could no longer eat them as they contained a lot of processed sugars, which were no longer part of my diet. Incredibly determined, I set about developing a new baked beans recipe by adding a little of this and a little of that, trying to get it to taste just like Mom’s. Over the years, I have fine tuned the amounts to make it a repeatable recipe we could share with others. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. — Katie

1-16 oz can white (or northern) beans, drained
2-16 oz cans white (or northern) beans, undrained
8 oz can tomato sauce
3 oz tomato paste
4 T yellow mustard
6 T honey
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled (recommended: Hormel Original Choice)
4 tsp of bacon grease
molasses to drizzle

Drain 1 can of beans, and put in a bowl. Without draining, add the other two cans of beans. Mix the tomato sauce and tomato paste, then stir into the beans. Add the mustard, honey, lemon pepper, bacon, and bacon grease. Stir until mixed well. Drizzle the molasses on top, and cut in with a knife. Bake at 350° uncovered for an hour. If you want to bake for two hours, cover for the first hour.