baked beans stew

Many of us would have eaten baked beans when we were children. Every now and then, I like to cook a dish using baked beans as the base.

The good thing about using baked beans as the base is that as the beans soften, they thicken the dish without the need to add any cornstarch.

Here is a simple recipe for a baked beans stew that is a sure winner with children and adults alike.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 large red onion (chopped)

2 cans of baked beans

1 packet of crab sticks

5 dried mushrooms

1 can button mushrooms

1 small broccoli

4 stalks of celery

2 large potatoes (cut into cubes)

1 small packet of enoki mushrooms

1 large carrot

1 green capsicum

1 red capsicum

1 yellow capsicum

1 can young corn

100g chicken fillet (cut into bite sized pieces)

cooking sherry

worcestershire sauce

tomato sauce to taste

sugar to taste

bacon bits

dried herbs (eg. parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc)

olive oil

water

Method

1. Marinade the chicken fillet with cooking sherry and worcestershire sauce. Set aside while preparing the rest of the stew.

2. Cut the crab sticks, dried mushrooms, button mushrooms, broccoli, celery, potatoes, enoki mushrooms, green capsicum, red capsicum, yellow capsicum and young corn into bite sized pieces.

3. In a large pot, fry the chopped garlic with olive oil. Add the chopped red onions and fry until soft.

4. Add the chicken fillet and fry lightly.

5. Add the chopped vegetables and stir-fry.

6. Pour in a bowl of water and cover the pot to let the stew cook.

7. When the vegetables have softened, add the baked beans.

8. Sprinkle with bacon bits and dried herbs.

9. Add tomato sauce and sugar to taste.

10. Bring the stew to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.