Cranberry Baked Beans

Ok, I have to start by saying that I debated long and hard as to whether or not I should blog about this dish.  I got this recipe years ago at the Stowe Farmer's Market where someone was handing them out.  I thought it sounded intriguing so I held on to it.  

Needless to say I finally pulled it out and decided to give it a try for this week's "new recipe" (for those that don't already know, I try to make at least one new recipe a week).  Well, truth be told, we all hated this dish!  Isn't that awful???  I wanted so badly to like it, especially because I don't like to throw food out, but man......none of us could finish the servings we had on our plates.  The only good thing about this dish was the cooking method - I thought the consistency of the end result were pretty spot on.  Unfortunately, it was just way too tart.  I tried to fix it by adding more sugar, but nothing worked and there was no salvaging it for us.  I was pretty bummed out!

So, you're probably wondering why I am bothering with posting this recipe.  Well, in the end I decided that even though we didn't like, someone out there might!  Or, maybe someone out there would like to take a stab at it and maybe turn it into something wonderful.  Who knows, I just figured I'd put it out there....in the spirit of honesty and sharing.  If by chance you decide to give it a try, please let me know how it turned out and what you thought of it!  Good luck!

Cranberry Baked Beans

3 cups dry navy beans
5 cups cranberry juice
1/2 lb bacon, diced
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
5 tsp dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Place beans in a Dutch oven or soup kettle.  Add water to cover beans by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil, and let it boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, and cover and let it stand at room temp for 1 hour.  Drain beans and discard liquid.  Return beans to pan, and add cranberry juice.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 1 hour or until beans are almost tender.  Drain, reserving cranberry liquid.  Place beans in a 2 1/2 qt casserole or bean pot, and add the remaining ingredients and 1 1/2 cups of the reserved cranberry liquid.  Cover and let bake at 350 for 3 hours, or until beans are tender, stirring every 30 minutes.  Add reserved cranberry liquid as needed.  Serves 10-12.