Every year, my parents' office has a party the Saturday before the end of tax season - which, this year, was today. They get a bunch of boney boxes and pulled pork sandwiches from Jim's Rib Haven, a local BBQ joint that recently expanded into Omaha, and everyone else brings sides and what not. For years, two of our long-standing, now retired, employees made everyone's favorite sides: baked beans and dessert (usually some sort of cake). Having retired, it was time for someone else to carry the torch. My sister decided to make a red velvet cake, and I decided that I would finally try my hands at making some baked beans.

But I didn't want to make baked beans that involved barbecue sauce, ketchup, prepared mustard, or other such things. It's somewhat hard to avoid HFCS if you use prepared sauces, so I try to avoid them. You would not believe the number of recipes that call for them!