beans beans beans....

Ever tried making your own baked beans?
Like many, you may be fearful of certain side effects. Treehugger gives some solutions here.

here's a yummy recipes I found recently. I'm going to give it a go (once the weather is cooler) but by making the beans from scratch:

Veggie Chili with Cornbread Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 white onion, medium diced
2 small cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes,

2 links vegetarian sausage (kinda spicy), or 8 oz. other veggie meat of your choice, cut into bite size chunks
2 T. olive oil
salt
optional: tabasco, chili flakes, chili powder, ground ancho chilis, green chilis, whatever heat you like
grated cheddar for serving
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. yogurt
1/4 c. whole milk
1 egg
2 T. vegetable oil

instructions:

Preheat the onion to 400 degrees.

Put the onions, pinto beans, tomatoes, veggie sausage and olive oil in a casserole. Season with salt and add optional heat to your taste. Cover and put in oven to start heating while you make the dumplings.

Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl. Beat the yogurt, milk, egg, and vegetable oil in another. Quickly mix the wet and dry ingredients without overbeating.

Remove the casserole from the oven, remove the lid, and drop the dumpling dough on in chunks a bit smaller than a golf ball, leaving spaces between them. (See picture above)

Bake about 20 minutes or so (uncovered) until the beans are hot and the dumplings are golden brown and baked through. Check them with a toothpick if you aren't sure.
Serve it up with grated cheddar and hot sauce on the side.

Do you have a favourite baked beans recipe? I'd love to hear it :)