My mom used to make this when we were kids. And while she always told us, “I never said I could cook, I just said I could keep us from starving!”, this was always a great meal. And to think, it came about just because she needed to stretch her food budget… and a pound of ground beef!

Nowadays I make it with ground turkey, but that’s just a personal preference. But since it’s such a simple recipe (the best kind in my book!), I wanted to share it. It’s certainly nothing fancy, but it’s delicious, healthy, and can really help you out if you’re looking for great family meals on a budget.

The Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef or turkey
3 15 oz cans pork and beans
1 18oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Bread for making open-faced sandwiches (or hamburger buns if you prefer)
1/2 a small onion, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Brown your onion in a bit of oil or whatever it is you typically do with an onion that you’re adding to your BBQ. We don’t do onions in my house except in very specific ways… and barbecue isn’t one of those ways!

2. Brown your ground beef or turkey.

3. Add the beans to the ground meat.

4. Add the bottle of barbecue sauce. If you happen to have a larger bottle, add to taste. You’ll know it’s enough when it tastes like BBQ rather than pork and beans.

5. Stir everything together and simmer for at least 30 minutes. It’s even better the next day after all the flavors have blended.

6. Toast your bread. Put the bread on a plate and spoon the barbecue over the top. Enjoy!!

NOTES

* It freezes really well. If you divide it into smaller portions before freezing, you can quickly thaw one or more bags on those busy days when you’re just not in the mood to cook, but your family is asking what’s for dinner (or throw a frozen bag of BBQ at them if they’re whining too loud!). 🙂

* For a lower carb version, I use low carb barbecue sauce (I love Guy’s spicy one at Netrition.com) and either skip the bread, or use my low carb bread (also from Netrition) or a low carb tortilla if I need an “on the run” meal (which I usually do!) As far as tortilla’s go, I order Mama Lupe’s if I’m already paying for a Netrition order, or I pick them up at my local Fry’s Store. They carry OLE Xtreme Wellness tortillas that I use for everything!

Do you have a favorite recipe that’s simple to make, tastes good, and is easy on your family budget? If you do, or if you try this one and make changes, please feel free to share in the comments below!!

Take care,
Debi aka @GenXBrat

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