Canned Food Challenge, Day 8: Bush's Baked Beans

February is National Canned Food month and canned foods are a great way to stay prepared for any disaster or SHTF event. So, for all of February, Chowmageddon is all about eating out of cans--not all three meals, every day, but one meal per day. Soups alone could meet this requirement, but who wants to eat soup every day?

As I mentioned in Day 7's Challenge, beans are a staple of prepping. Instead of 5 gallon buckets of uncooked beans, however, I like to stock Bush's Baked beans, which come in a variety of flavors, including my favorite, Maple & Brown Sugar.

Each 28 ounce can contains enough food for 2-4 people, depending on portions size.

Overall ratings:

PRICE:

$2.19 a can, for 28 ounces seems like a great deal to me--that's two man-sized meals for someone of my stature, which makes this considerably cheaper than a can of my favorite chili. 

SHELF LIFE  

No stupid pop-tops on these Bush's Baked Beans. An opener is required. And, after three years in the bunker pantry, they tasted just as good as freshly bought-beans, although I do admit I tend to add a dash of BBQ sauce to mine when I cook them..

EASE OF PREPARATION

Now, I know it's possible, but I don't think I could pop open a can of beans and eat them raw. I need my beans cooked. Still, the fact that you could eat these raw, and that they come seasoned and flavored in the can, makes these one of, if the most useful preps in your pantry. 

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Okay, beans are full of nutrition, and protein. The magical fruit may make you gassy later, but it will keep you alive. 

VERSATILITY

I'm no vegan, but baked beans do offer a great versatility in cooking, even when you don't have meat. They can be served with rice, on toast, with potatoes, or even in home-made chili. For me, my favorite use for baked beans is home-made Frank-n-beans: I add one pack of hotdogs (8), sliced thin, per 16 ounces of beans, then add in about a half-cup of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. Put it all in a pot on low-to-medium heat, stirring often, and in a short time, you've got a savory, bubbling pot of goodness. Serve with bread (bisquick drop biscuits in the post-apocalypse, breadless world, would be are a great companion).

TASTE

As stated above, these are pretty darned good. I mean, they're no substitute for chili, but these are so much better than the baked beans I used to have to eat at family cook outs or most restaurants. Bush's isn't a huge success for no reason--they make great beans.