I usually only spend about 25 minutes scattered over the whole day on letting Southern Style BBQ Baked Beans do their thing in the pot. Beans are holders of the nutritional triple crown!!! They're packed with protein and fiber, and they're one of the richest sources of antioxidants on the planet. So for a mere 150 calories, we have a food that will fill your belly, rev up your metabolism, and help fend off the Grim Reaper.

When you buy a 1 pound bag of dry beans in the store, they are usually about 2 1/2 to 2 2/3 cups of beans. As we know beans double in size when cooked. And I found that when I was first trying to introduce beans as a part of our way of life to the family, I had to go light. I used to make full batches of recipes that called for a pound of beans only to find I had 6 to 10 cups of beans left over. I learned to make half batches of beans in a baby "Little Dipper" crock-pot I got for making appetizers in, like for nacho cheese or those adorable cocktail weenies and meatballs at Christmas. Rival makes a nice 1.5 quart crock-pot for like $10-15. Up North were Boston Baked Beans come from it is good to bake the beans for hours in the over, which helps heat the house. But here in the South it is too hot to turn the oven on during the summer, so a crock-pot is the perfect answer.

Ingredients Southern Style BBQ Baked Beans:

• 1/2 pound navy or pink beans
• 3-4 cups water
• pinch of salt
• 4 strips bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, minced (or chopped finely in a chopper)
• 1/2 bell peppers, minced
• 1 cup of any smoked meat you might have leftover *
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 cup apple cider 
• 1/3 cup dark molasses or brown sugar
• 2 tbs - 1/4 cup mustard
• 1/4 cup of Michaels BBQ Dry Rub mix

Steps for "baking" Southern Style BBQ Baked Beans:

Soak your oversized cup of beans with 3-4 cups water for overnight, then drain. Combine beans and 3-4 cups water in your crock-pot. Cook for 2 to 3 hours on a high heat, stirring occasionally. After the beans have softened, drain most of the water from the pot until the beans are just barely covered. Now add a pinch of salt, dash of liquid smoke if you like, and continue cooking about another 1 hour.   Drain out the beans and reserve the water. In a skillet fry the bacon. Remove the bacon and add the chopped onion and peppers. Saute in the bacon grease until soft.  Place the peppers, onion and bacon along with any smoked meat ends in the crock-pot.

Add all remaining ingredients, mix well, and add the beans back in. Add just enough of the reserved water to cover and set back to cook on low for another 1-2 hours. At some point in the process the beans are soft enough to mash between your fingers and this tells you they are done.

Notes * about smoked meat. When you grill or smoke some meat, or eat some real yummy BBQ, save the ends of the meat, about an inch from each end in a freezer zip-lock in the freezer. This stuff is known as Burnt Ends. It is not really burned, it's just that it is a little tough and not tender, so store it away for bean flavoring.