Along with Dogwood Arts Festival, the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, and East Tennessee pollen, nothing tells you springtime is really here like eating outside. And with those picnics, spontaneous backyard gatherings, and the like, comes some traditional favorite, fun foods. By now, you’ve probably heard about Hot Dog Mondays at The Tomato Head, and our recipe for Baked Beans is a perfect complement for serving hot dogs at home.

Mahasti presented this recipe on WBIR this morning, and also shared a great dog assembly–chopped lettuce, baked beans, cheddar and daikon slaw. We’re not offering it in the restaurants today, but we will be featuring it on Monday, for Hot Dog Mondays. Even better, when you order up your dog on Monday, know that you’re not only eating well, but doing good at the same time. For the remainder of April, and potentially longer, we’ll be donating 10% of our Monday sales to Japan Relief efforts (Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF).

So, give these Baked Beans a try in your own kitchen, and come Monday, swing by and try ’em on our Hot Dog special. We promise they’ll make your Monday much, much better. Woof!

Tomato Head’s Baked Beans

3 cups navy beans, looked and soaked overnight
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
½ cup molasses
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Chipotle Tabasco sauce, optional

Drain and rinse the beans. Place the beans in a large pot with 2 inches of water to cover and cook over medium heat for 30 – 40 minutes, or until soft.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once again drain the beans. Place the beans in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together until well mixed. Pour the beans into a 3 quart casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour.