Baked Beans

I can't take credit for these - it goes to Dr. Russ Tong who also makes an incredible spaghetti sauce. Additional credit goes to former member Cindy Wheeless now of Perrysburg, Ohio. Anyway the secret to Tong & Wheeless Baked Beans - not to be confused with Texas Baked Beans - is sweetened grease. Break open a can of baked beans - not ranch beans - drain off all the bean juice by pressing the lid down tight while inverting the can over the garbage. Put the beans in a pot. Fry up a mess of diced bacon with diced onions, more beans more bacon - pour all the bacon AND THE GREASE (secret #1) into the beans. Okay maybe not ALL of it - but for sure MOST of it. Then just dump in the brown sugar (secret #2) and cook them over a low heat until they're hot, bubbly and taste like candy. I swear you won't be able to stop eating them until you die, which you will if you eat them that long.

Some people add things like diced green pepper but who cares when you've got sweetened grease.

Cindy's secret is that she adds ground beef and, you guessed it, the grease. Sweetened beef and pork grease at the same time. It's Isaiah 25 - a feast of Fat Things! Whooppee! Heart don't fail me now.

At the café we make beans by the boatload. Here’s the amount for six although my experience is you can’t get enough of these beans.

• 8 strips bacon, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 lb of ground beef
• 3 cans (16 ounces each) baked pork and beans
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 small onion diced