This diabetic friendly recipe for Beefy Oven Baked Beans can go from a casual meal as a side dish with burgers to your big holiday celebrations. They are also perfect for pitch-ins, picnics, church socials, etc. Your family will love them on the dinner table, too. They are a great side dish for diabetics as they have the protein of beef and pork and they are made with Splenda instead of sugar. If you or your family and friends prefer, you can substitute the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend with 1/2 cup of regular brown sugar for a more traditional recipe. Either way this is an excellent recipe to add to your files.

BEEFY OVEN BAKED BEANS

2 cans (16-oz each) pork and beans

1/2 cup barbecue sauce with a low sugar content

1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1/2 lb ground beef

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 slices bacon, optional

In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef with the onion until the meat is no longer pink and the onion is softened. Pour into a colander and drain off excess fat. In a medium bowl, combine the beef and onion mixture with the pork and beans, barbecue sauce and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish that has been sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

NOTE: While beans are baking, crisply fry two slices of bacon, drain on paper toweling, crumble and sprinkle over the top of the beans about 5 minutes before removing from the oven.

Enjoy!