Sweet Pineapple Baked Beans (small batch)

Name: Sweet Pineapple Baked Beans (small batch)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 cup (180ml) pineapple juice; 1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup; 1 TBS American mustard; 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar; 1/2 tin (7 ounces/198g) crushed pineapple in juice, drained; 1 tin (14 ounces/397g) tin of baked beans, undrained

Friday, 3 January 2025

I was having the family over for New Years Day dinner and had a ham that I was going to bake, and so I was looking for some delicious side dishes to serve alongside the ham.

We have always, for as long as I can remember, had ham for New Years Day dinner. It was something my mother always cooked when we were growing up, and something we have continued to enjoy as adults.

This year I had a nice boneless PC ham that I had bought at the independent store in town. For once I decided not to do anything special to it, but simply bake it as per the package instructions. It turned out beautifully.

Generally speaking, we always have scalloped potatoes with ham. Scalloped potatoes always go well with a baked ham. We will usually have baked beans as well.

Here in Nova Scotia, Canada, a lot of groups will host Baked Bean Suppers as fund raisers, and the meal will always consist of baked ham, scalloped potatoes and baked beans. Everyone loves these suppers, and they usually raise a lot of money for whatever it is they are fund raising for.

My mother made beautiful baked beans from scratch. She would usually start them by soaking the beans the night before she wanted to bake them and then follow the recipe on the package of the dry beans the next morning. They would bake in the oven all day in her bean crock, tantalizing us with their smell. We could hardly wait to dig in.

You can also doctor up regular baked beans and have them taste almost as good as the baked beans from scratch. I do this regularly. I love adding pineapple to baked beans sometimes and especially on special occasions.

If New Years Day is not a special occasion, I don't know what is! I decided to make the pineapple beans to go with our ham and scalloped potatoes. Ham goes well with pineapple and beans go well with pineapple and Pineapple Baked Beans go well with anything! This is a small batch recipe which can very easily be doubled or tripled.

This was simply a really delicious meal. We feasted on the baked ham, scalloped potatoes, steamed carrots and these pineapple baked beans. My sister had made a Corn casserole to go with everything as well. It was all very delicious! Our plates were scraped clean!

Don't you just love the toadstool potholder that my sister and Dan gave me for Christmas? My sister knows me well and red and white toadstools are one of my absolute favorite things! The hot pad is something I crocheted while I was still living in my sister's place not too long after I returned to Canada. I love that too.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SWEET PINEAPPLE BAKED BEANS (SMALL BATCH)

Just a few store cupboard ingredients. Nothing more, nothing less.

3/4 cup (180ml) pineapple juice
1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup
1 TBS American mustard
1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar
1/2 tin (7 ounces/198g) crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1 tin (14 ounces/397g) tin of baked beans, undrained

True confessions here, I did not add the pineapple juice to the recipe. I simply did not drain my pineapple. I wanted beans with a thicker sauce, not a runny sauce. This worked beautifully!

American mustard is that bright yellow mustard which has quite a sharp vinegary flavor! If you are measuring by cups, do pack the brown sugar into the cup compactly.

The original recipe called for pineapple chunks. I did not have any chunks so used crushed pineapple which worked well. In the U.K. it is called Pineapple crush.

I used baked beans with pork and molasses. You can use any baked bean you happen to have in the larder, and they will still be delicious.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET PINEAPPLE BAKED BEANS

Nothing could be easier, I promise.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch casserole dish that is deepish.

Mix everything together in a bowl until well combined. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Cover.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer. Leave to cool slightly before serving.

It had been a very long time since I had made pineapple baked beans. These were fabulous. They were everything I remembered pineapple beans to be. Sweet and moreish. Simply delicious. I could easily have enjoyed just a plate of these with some buttered bread and nothing else.

We enjoyed these as an easy side dish with our New Years Baked Ham, some scalloped potatoes, steamed carrots and corn pudding. It made for a lovely meal to start the new year on!

I love baked beans of any kind. Here are a few other baked bean options that we enjoy eating!

EASY BOSTON BAKED BEANS - This recipe is my nod to my mom's original Boston Baked Beans, and all the Baked Beans of my ancestors, albeit a bit easier to throw together. They use cooked tinned Haricot Beans (navy beans) and streaky bacon. Every bit as delicious in a fraction of the time it takes to cook baked beans from scratch.

BACON AND POTATO HASH WITH CHEESY BEANS - A simply seasoned potato hash, with smoky bacon is served alongside some lightly spiced baked bean which have been enriched by the addition of some rich and tangy delicious cheese. Altogether a fabulous combination and very simple to make.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Sweet Pineapple Baked Beans (small batch)

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This is a fabulous side dish. We enjoyed these with ham and scalloped potatoes for a delicious meal. Simple to make and oh so tasty.

Ingredients

3/4 cup (180ml) pineapple juice
1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup
1 TBS American mustard
1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar
1/2 tin (7 ounces/198g) crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1 tin (14 ounces/397g) tin of baked beans, undrained

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch casserole dish that is deepish.
Mix everything together in a bowl until well combined. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Cover.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer. Leave to cool slightly before serving.

Did you make this recipe?

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Air Fryer Roast Potatoes (small batch)

Thursday, 2 January 2025

I have been wanting to roast potatoes in my air fryer for a while now. I have baked them, and I have made chips, but I had never made classic roasted potatoes in the air fryer.

I love my air fryer, and I use it a lot. It is the perfect kitchen tool, especially for the smaller family. You don't have to heat up your whole oven to cook a small quantity of food.

There is not much that you cannot cook in an air fryer, depending on the model you get. I had a T-Fal one over in the U.K. and it was one of the first air fryers which had been manufactured. It was huge, round and took up a large space in my small kitchen. The newer models are much small and efficient in my opinion.

I love roast potatoes. With their crisp golden-brown exterior and fluffy insides, they make the perfect addition to any dinner. In the U.K. they are a vital part of any roast dinner. I cannot think of anything that a roast potato wouldn't go with to be honest.

They are also very easy to cook in the Air Fryer, especially when you are a small family such as I am. It means that I don't have to turn on my oven to roast a small number of potatoes. If you have double racks in your air fryer (as I do) you can also roast potatoes for a larger group of people, leaving your oven free to get on with cooking something else.

These were the perfect roast potatoes in my opinion. I could eat a plate of these and nothing else. Crisp and golden-brown exterior with perfectly fluffy insides. You really can't go wrong! No fuss, no muss.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE AIR FRYER ROAST POTATOES

A few simple ingredients and an air fryer of course!

3/4 pound (350g) floury type of potatoes (Red potatoes, Russet potatoes, Maris Piper, etc.)
1 1/2 TBS neutral flavored oil (such as rapeseed, avocado or sunflower)
1/2 tsp flaked sea salt
1/2 TBS fresh thyme leaves (optional)

I have a Kuraidori Multi-function Air Fryer, which I purchased several years ago at Home Hardware here in Canada. My sister also has one and we have never had any problems with them. It even has a rotisserie function for chickens, etc.

Using the right kind of potato is essential in making roast potatoes with the right texture when done. You want a nice floury potato.

Floury potatoes have a fluffy, dry texture that makes them great for boiling, mashed potatoes and for chips (French fries). Boiled in their skins, floury potatoes often burst open, and their mealy flesh spills out as they cook. They contain more starch than waxy potatoes making them perfect for baking, roasting, frying and mashing.

HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER ROAST POTATOES

These are really very simple to make. I know I say that frequently, but truth be told, I like simple and will choose simple recipes over complicated ones most of the time! Does that make me lazy? I don't know. Maybe!

Peel your potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks, and give them a good rinse under cold water. Place them into a saucepan and cover them with lightly salted cold water.

Bring to the boil and cook for 8 minutes. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Give them a good shake over the residual heat of the burner to really dry them out and chuff them up a bit.

Add 1 TBS of the oil, stirring the potatoes gently to coat them with the oil, covering them completely.

Preheat the air fryer (if required) to 400*F/200*C.

Place the oil coated potatoes into the basket of the air fryer and cook for 5 minutes at 400*F/200*C. Take them out and flip them over. Return to the air fryer and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the remaining oil. Give them a good shake.

Cook again for a further 10 minutes at 400*F/200*C until the potatoes are crisp, golden brown and the tip of a sharp knife inserts easily.

Serve hot, sprinkled with flaked sea salt and thyme leaves if using.

HINTS AND TIPS FOR BETTER ROASTED POTATOES

1. Make sure you use the right kind of potato for roasting. It should be a floury potato, not a waxy or a salad potato. By floury potato I mean a potato that is well suited to mashing.

2. Do par-boil them for about 8 minutes to give them a head start and so that you can chuff up the outsides a bit before you begin.

3. You can use either the basket of your air fryer or the tray. They will get crisper in the tray if you have one. I did use the basket for mine. If you are using a tray, you may not need to shake them quite as often.

4. Make sure you shake the par-boiled potatoes over the residual heat of the burner to dry them out. This will help the oil to coat them more fully.

These were really delicious and not as much trouble to make as conventional classic roasted potatoes. You could skip par-boiling them if you wanted to, just cooking them for longer in the air fryer, but if you want a classic result, do par-boil them first.

These were lovely and crisp, not greasy in the least. The sea salt was nice on them at the end and I did add some thyme leaves, but really the thyme did not add any flavor. It was more like a decoration. A bit of green to make them visually pop!

Here are a few more potato sides that are cooked in the air fryer that I really enjoy!

AIR FRYER TWICE BAKED POTATOES - Well scrubbed potatoes are pricked and baked in the air fryer. Once tender (and crispy skinned) they are split in two. The flesh is mixed with some butter, two kinds of cheese, garlic, onion and seasonings before being piled back into the skins and baked for a further amount of time in the air fryer, until crispy and golden brown. These are fabulously delicious!

CRISPY AIR FRYER CHIPS (FRENCH FRIES) - Now you can have your chips and eat them too! Crisp and golden brown, they are crisp on the outsides and soft and fluffy inside. Quick and easy to make they are cooked to perfection in about 20 minutes. Simple ingredients done well. These are fabulously tasty! I LOVE them!

Yield: 2 servings

Author: Marie Rayner