I don’t think I’ve ever owned a really good knife in my entire life. When I first moved out of my parent’s house I had a set of Ginsu knives - you know, the ones they sell on TV that will cut through a shoe then slice through a tomato with the greatest of ease all for the low low price of $29.99. They were alright, but nothing great. Then when I moved around I don’t know what happened, but when I got to Chicago I just needed some knives immediately so I ended up with a craptacular set from Ikea that barely cuts anything.

My brother gave me a gift certificate for my birthday so I decided to use it to invest in one good multi-purpose knife. I got some suggestions from people and decided on getting a Mac knife. The reviews that I read were good and these are the knives that Dallas said his entire family has used for years, so I was sold. It was expensive, but worth every penny. I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t shove the knife in an onion and then rock back and forth to force it through. This new knife goes through onions like buttah! So awesome.

On to the beans..

I love beans but I’ve never made them at home. When I came across this recipe on Cooking Light I decided to try it out. I know it’s the cheater way - with the ketchup base, and only cooking them for about 45 minutes, not like all day, and canned beans, but… baby steps! They turned out really good.. very barbecuey, though. I prefer a little less barbecue bite, but they were still good.. and easy to make.

Click the link below for the Stovetop “Baked Beans” recipe (Cooking Light only provides recipes online to subscribers).

Stovetop “Baked Beans”

The maple syrup and sugar added a friendly sweetness and the barbecue seasoning a familiar tang, but kids still tend to joke about beans as much as eat them.

1 tablespoon stick margarine or butter
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup reduced-calorie ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons barbecue smoked seasoning (such as Hickory Liquid Smoke)
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 (16-ounce) can red beans, drained
1 (15.8-ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained

Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Stir in ketchup and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 179(10% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 0.4g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 6g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 53mg; SODIUM 331mg; FIBER 3.8g; IRON 2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.6g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1998