Just make sure that when you make baked beans, and others are partaking of them, equip it with a little flag on top. This can be done with a little toothpick and a little piece of paper, with this inscription: "Danger. High pressure gas. Call before digging".

Like the vegetarian kind, but it can be watery, I found that cooking them with bar-b-q sauce thickens it up while giving it a nice taste.

Baked beans are classic picnic food and great - provided you know how to make them - and it isn't difficult, expensive or time consuming. Here's the basic recipe...it's for a huge batch so, proceed with caution...

1 gallon prepared baked beans (Cambell's Pork & Beans, etc.)
1 extra large yellow onion, chopped fine
12 ounces dark brown sugar
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1 3/4 cups ketchup, plus more for garnish
Salt
Pepper
5 strips uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 360 degrees F.

Combine beans, onions, brown sugar, mustard, ketchup, salt, and pepper in a large baking dish. Lay bacon strips across top of beans. Squirt ketchup in a zig-zag pattern across the top of beans and bacon. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Note: The above is from a recipe on the FoodTV web page. My mother made them pretty much the same way for decades...though she used less ketchup and did not "zig zag" it across the top. Definately use the bacon - you may not want to eat it (I do but I'm weird) but it does season the beans really well. Finally, I would never make this size batch for a pic nic or pitch-in because you will not be the only one bringing them and the less you bring, the less chance of having to drag the leftovers home.

no one touches the beans...no one ever touches the beans.