Tag: ketchup

Categories
Crockpot Main Dish

Easy recipe proves the crock pot is no has-‘bean’

Beans in a pot come together quickly and finish in the crockpot, making for a barbecue-sauce-forward dinner. The recipe can easily feed a crowd or be ready for tasty leftovers later on.
Beans in a pot come together quickly and finish in the crockpot, making for a barbecue-sauce-forward dinner. The recipe can easily feed a crowd or be ready for tasty leftovers later on.

On Jan. 23, 1940, the United States awarded a patent to inventor Irving Nachumsohn’s newest creation: the crock pot.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, it was originally marketed as the “Naxon Beanery,” with its name coming from a shortened version of Nachumsohn’s last name. With the public’s opinions of German last names during the mid-1940s, he figured it was smart to change it a bit to make the device more marketable.

Though the crock pot officially turned 85 at the start of 2025, its popularity is still high.

For us, it’s a great appliance for everything from over-scheduled weeks, where cooking is just not going to fit on the day’s calendar, to hosting gatherings.

I think I had two of them going while we hosted Thanksgiving—one to keep the mashed potatoes warm before dinner and one hard at work turning the turkey bones into stock for soup.

I fired my crockpot up again this last week to try a dish sent in for our holiday recipe section by Wenda Black of Sedgwick.

I am always appreciative of very simple recipes that I can set and forget, and Wenda’s beans in a pot recipe came just at the right time for me on a super busy weekday.

Wenda said, “I’ve made this many times over the past 30 years.” And I can see why. It’s easy to put together and easy to adjust to your own, personal spice preferences.

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Beans in a Pot

Beans in a pot come together quickly and finish in the crockpot, making for a barbecue-sauce-forward dinner. The recipe can easily feed a crowd or be ready for tasty leftovers later on.
Course Main Course
Keyword brown sugar, catsup, chili beans, crockpot, easy meal, fresh garlic, great northern beans, ground beef, ground hamburger, ground sausage, ketchup, liquid smoke, minced garlic, red beans, red onion, slow cooker, Worcestershire, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground hamburger
  • 1 pound ground sausage
  • 2 15.5- ounce cans great northern beans rinsed and drained
  • 15.5- ounce can red beans rinsed and drained
  • 15.5- ounce can chili beans
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke I substituted Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon garlic minced
  • 1/2 medium red onion diced
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Fry the hamburger, sausage and onions in a large skillet until the meat is cooked through, and drain off any fat from the pan.
  • Add the cooked meat and onion mixture to a crock pot, along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix to incorporate everything well.
  • Cook on high for one hour and then on low for one to two more hours. Add more salt and pepper, if needed.
  • Serve in a bowl with corn chips, shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired.

This was a really nice, quick dinner for us this week, and we still have plenty of leftovers.

Joey suggested it would be good over some baked potatoes. I completely agree, so I think that’s how we’ll eat it when we reheat it.

The mixture has a bit of sweetness from the brown sugar and barbecue sauce, but you can also easily add some heat with spicy sausage and hot chili beans.

And it’s a good nod to the Nachumsohn’s “beanery.”

Beans in a pot is just what he had in mind.

This piece first appeared in print Dec. 11, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

You’ll ‘loaf’ this lightened-up classic dish for dinner

It isn’t a fancy meal, but turkey meatloaf is a lighter version of the down-home classic, and with some added garlic, onions and herbs, it makes for a tasty dinner.
It isn’t a fancy meal, but turkey meatloaf is a lighter version of the down-home classic, and with some added garlic, onions and herbs, it makes for a tasty dinner.

There are a few dishes that feel specifically American.

Meatloaf is one of those, despite it also being the butt of many sitcom jokes over the years.

According to an article by Erica Martinez for “Food Republic,” meatloaf has been on recipe cards since the 1870s, but it may be even older than that.

“[F]ood historians believe that the concept of meatloaf has been in existence since the fifth century, when medieval Europeans would dine on a dish made of diced meat scraps combined with fruit, nuts, and spices,” she writes.

Regardless of its origins, I still think we can claim it as our own here.

Unfortunately, it needs to be a “sometimes food” for most of us, considering its higher fat content, which is why this week’s recipe, which subs in ground turkey, is a great meatloaf to try.

This comes from the blog “Recipes by Lucy.” You can find the original at https://www.recipesbylucy.com/turkey-meatloaf-2/. I added extra garlic and seasonings in my version. I also rounded up the amount of ground turkey to two pounds, since I thought that made more sense.

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Turkey Meatloaf

It isn’t a fancy meal, but turkey meatloaf is a lighter version of the down-home classic, and with some added garlic, onions and herbs, it makes for a tasty dinner.
Course Main Course
Keyword basil, black pepper, catsup, dijon mustard, fresh garlic, ground turkey, ketchup, light recipe, meatloaf, minced garlic, onion, oregano, panko, parsley, tomato paste, Worcestershire, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground turkey
  • 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion finely diced
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 rounded teaspoons dried parsley
  • 2 rounded teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 rounded teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper (hang some over the edges for easier removal), and set it aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, pepper and salt.
  • In a small bowl, beat the milk and egg together with a fork or whisk until they are well combined, and pour those into the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix with a large spoon or your hands until everything is just incorporated. (Don’t over mix, or you could end up with a less-than-awesome texture.)
  • Add the meat mixture into the prepared loaf pan, and spread it out evenly.
  • Prepare the glaze in a small bowl by adding the ketchup, tomato paste, dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until it is well combined.
  • Spread about half of the glaze mixture over the top of the meatloaf, and put it in the oven to bake for 45 minutes.
  • Spread the rest of the glaze on top, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches at least 165 degrees.
  • Let the meatloaf sit for five to 10 minutes before carefully removing it from the pan, slicing and serving.

This was pretty darn good. I felt like I could have thrown even more herbs in there, if I wanted to, but this meatloaf certainly didn’t lack flavor. The glaze was especially good.

It was also the perfect companion to some homemade mashed potatoes. It was definitely a great nostalgia meal. And, if you’ve ever been accused, as Rodney Dangerfield’s wife was, of making a meatloaf that was so bad that it glowed in the dark, then it’s time to try a new recipe.

Honestly, I think Dangerfield should have been happy his wife was making him such a time-honored recipe. No wonder that guy didn’t get any respect.

This piece first appeared in print June 26, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Main Dish Snack

It’s time to pig out on rolls from across the pond

Sausage rolls are a popular fast food for groups from the British to the Irish to Australians. They feature seasoned ground pork, baked in a flaky, delicious puff pastry. They’re great for dinner or an appetizer.
Sausage rolls are a popular fast food for groups from the British to the Irish to Australians. They feature seasoned ground pork, baked in a flaky, delicious puff pastry. They’re great for dinner or an appetizer.

I have always loved British entertainment.

Lately, my obsession has been with a British podcast called “Off Menu.” It features comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and the premise is really simple. They ask guests to join them in their fictitious “dream restaurant,” and then they go course by course through the guest’s dream meal.

It’s a fantastic basis for great conversation, and it has not only left me pondering what I would choose for my own best meal, but I have also found myself looking up recipes for a variety of dishes they discuss.

So far, I have tried one: sausage rolls. While it isn’t fancy at all—it’s really just something you grab on the go—after hearing about the concoction several times, I decided I had to give it a try.

The recipe I used for this comes from the blog “Australia’s Best Recipes” by Greer Worsley. You can find the original post at https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipes/french-onion-sausage-rolls-recipe/68pmwql0. I added extra seasoning in my version and changed the measurements to U.S. standards.

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Onion sausage rolls

Sausage rolls are a popular fast food for groups from the British to the Irish to Australians. They feature seasoned ground pork, baked ina flaky, delicious puff pastry. They’re great for dinner or an appetizer.
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Keyword catsup, dijon mustart, French onion soup mix, ketchup, minced garlic, onion soup mix, puff pastry, quick appetizer, quick dinner, sausage roll, spicy brown mustard, Worcestershire

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 envelope onion soup mix 1 ounce
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons spicy brown or dijon mustard
  • 4-6 cloves garlic minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 sheets puff pastry 17.3 ounces, defrosted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, soup mix, ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix it well with a spoon or with your hands until it’s well combined.
  • Roll out the pastry sheets to about nine inches wide, and cut them each into three, even, long strips (there should be a fold seam to guide you).
  • Divide the pork mixture evenly between the six strips, forming a long log down the center of each strip.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush the mixture the entire length on either the left or right side of the meat mixture on each strip. Roll the pastry, starting with the side you didn’t brush, to create a very long tube, surrounding the meat mixture. Press the seam to seal it, and then, using a sharp knife, cut the roll into about six pieces. (You can do fewer pieces if you’d rather have larger sausage rolls.) Place the rolls about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
  • Serve with mustard for dipping.

I know that I would need to take a trip across the pond to get “real deal” sausage rolls, but these were really yummy. Cutting them into the smaller pieces also makes them perfect for an appetizer table, but we ended up just eating a few for dinner, and they were filling and delicious. The flavor profile actually reminded me just a bit of bierocks—without the cabbage, of course.

The puff pastry was also a great touch, making the rolls awesome and flaky. I highly recommend giving them a try.

If I were challenged to create my dream menu, I don’t think sausage rolls would make the cut—I have had way too many great dishes, I’m afraid. But I do think I’ll make these again sometime. They were a nice change of pace, an easy dinner, and it finally satisfied my craving. Win-win-win.

This piece first appeared in print on March 23, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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