Beans and Cornbread

Do you have Pioneer Woman's first cookbook?

Did you see the episode on the Food Network when PW made Beans and Cornbread when her kids went camping with their grandma?

Well, it inspired me.

Why not try beans and cornbread? It's got to be good if PW makes it, right?

So I threw some beans in a pot with a little bacon and started boiling away.

Her recipe calls for 2-3 hours of boiling time.

Three hours later it was dinner time. I whipped up the cornbread, pulled the beans off the stove and relished in my amazingness. I was feeling AWESOME!

Well, the beans were hard, and the cornbread was flat and overdone.

It was the saddest, sorriest meal ever!

The Mr. said that it was pretty good, but I think he was just being kind.


It definitely did NOT look like this!

Yesterday, I had a determination to try this recipe again and do it right this time.

I started much earlier in the day.

I added 8 strips of cooked bacon, 1/2 of a chopped onion, a Tablespoon of taco seasoning and salt and pepper.

I let it cook for 7 hours.

Then I made cornbread, carefully this time, checking to make sure each ingredient was present and accounted for.

In the process, I discovered I had left out a couple of ingredients the last time I made it. No wonder it looked and tasted like death!

Once again, with great anticipation, I pulled the beans off the stove, got the cornbread out of the oven and presented it to my brave husband.

I had a little bowl of Cotija cheese to sprinkle on top of the beans and we began eating what might possibly be one of my favorite bean meals I have ever eaten.

The heavenly choirs were singing above.

I didn't want to stop. Those beans were to die for, the cornbread was fluffy with the best texture and this little girl was happy.