Deer Hunting Beans and Cheesy Potatoes

Deer hunting 2011 was a pretty laid back affair.  Due to the crazy fall of 2011 and the lack of deer, I became the camp cook.  We had a fatty for breakfast sandwiches, ABT’s as a snack before the Friday night fish, ribs and chicken for Saturday night, and a great first crack at some beans and some potatoes.  Both turned out great, and even though our lone hunter “Big Boss Man” never saw any deer, it was worth keeping these two recipes.  I wish I had taken a few pictures.  The next time I make these I will be sure to snap a few….

Hunting Beans (inspired by Wicked Beans)

• 6-8 Strips of Bacon cut into small chunks
• 1/2 of a medium onion diced
• 1/2 of a bell pepper diced
• 1-2 Jalapeno peppers diced
• 1 55oz can of baked beans
• 1 8oz can of pineapple chuncks drained
• 1 cup of Brown Sugar
• 1 cup of Ketchup
• 1 Tbsp of dry mustard

Saute the bacon, onion, and peppers until they are tender and the bacon is crispy.  Combine all other ingredients with these into a disposable baking pan and cook on the smoker at around 250 degrees for 2 hours.  I cooked these underneath a fatty and the drippings were great in the pan.  Cooking these under ribs would be great as well.

Cheesy Potatoes

• 2 lbs of diced potatoes (have had trouble with precooked potatoes from the store not getting soft, maybe precook them before using)
• 1 large can of cream of mushroom soup
• 8 0z of sour cream
• a diced medium onion
• a diced green pepper
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 pkg of cream cheese
• 2 pkgs of shredded cheese
• 2 Tblsp of a combo of salt, pepper,onion and garlic powder (SPOG)
• a few shakes of your favorite BBQ rub

Grease a 9×12 pan and pour potatoes into it.  In a pot, melt butter and then add soup.  Stir to incorporate.  Add sour cream and stir to incorporate.  Add cream cheese and stir to incorporate.  Add 1 pkg of shredded cheese and stir to incorporate.  Mix in SPOG spices.  Pour over the potatoes.  Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for one hour.  Uncover the pan, sprinkle with the other pkg of cheese, and broil for 5-10 minutes to melt and brown the cheese.  Sprinkle the BBQ rub over the dish and serve.