July 6th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning!

I made the BEST batch of baked beans EVER! It took great restraint not to eat the whole pan before I brought it over to Sharon’s – which is a good thing, because that would have had disastrous consequences. LOL. Everyone raved about them, so it was not just my taste buds doing the happy dance.

Since I only had one thing left to make yesterday, I was able to take my time and do it the right way, as opposed to just throwing it together and hope for the best. I cooked the bacon super slowly, and when there was enough rendered fat in the pan, I added chopped Vidalia onions. I chopped the bacon into tiny bits, and when the onion started to get soft, I added brown sugar.

The lack of molasses in my house nearly had me in a panic, so to compensate, I let the bacon, onion, brown sugar mix, cook longer than usual, until the mixture was truly caramelized. Then I added ketchup, mustard, and about two tablespoons of BBQ sauce (to make up for the missing molasses). I let that simmer for ten minutes, then added it to the beans, stirred, scraped it into a half-pan, and plopped it in a 350 oven for 45 minutes. Oh my WORD! They were scrumptious.

LOL. I can’t believe I’m doing a blog post about baked beans, but what the heck, right? They are a summer BBQ staple. What is your favorite BBQ side dish? Is there a particular recipe you’d like to share? I’m all for trying new things and for variations on old favorites. So let’s have it – your unique spin on deviled eggs, great aunt Poppy’s cold beet slaw, Grandma Ursula’s German potato salad, whatever.

Over the summer, I’ll try making what you send me, and I’ll post a photo of the results. Now, I’m no chef, but I am a pretty darn good cook. I can’t guarantee they’ll be culinary masterpieces, and there is a chance they will turn out as epic fails, but I promise to try.

I’m not sure how much writing I’ll get done today, because I have a monster sinus headache, but I have to go and try. I hope you have a super day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

(S)He looks so familiar…

When I chose this prompt yesterday, I had no idea it would actually happen to me at the party. Sharon had a wide array of friends at the picnic. Some I had met before, and some who I was meeting for the first time. There were three friends of her from high school. (Sharon and I went to school together, but she was two grades behind me.) Steve, who I remember well, Robyn who I swear I had no recollection of, and Debbie, who looked kinda familiar, but …

We were all sitting around, chatting, laughing, and having a good time. Debbie and I, at one point, also paired up as horseshoe partners. The whole time, I kept looking at her, trying to place her from my memory. Then, halfway through our game of horseshoes, Debbie’s daughter showed up at the picnic. BAM, total recognition. When I saw the daughter, I was transported back to the early eighties, and was able to remember Debbie from school.

I guess my forty eight year old brain was trying to fit Debbie into an adult placement, and there was no correlation; but when my seventeen year old brain was allowed to take over, the connection was easily made.

Your Next Challenge is:

“Putting pen to paper lights more fire than matches ever will” (Malcolm Forbes)

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.