Dressing up my mail box and a recipe

We all have the same drab mailboxes here in the mobile home park where I live. Standard size, black mailboxes attached to a light pole that has a round, white, heavy plastic globe covering the light.  Each light has a "magic eye" so they turn on at dusk and go off in the morning light.  But come the holidays, most of them perk up a little.  There's a lot of plastic soldiers like mine and there are also some plastic snowmen.  It's kind of an unspoken rule, if you move out, you leave your soldier or snowman behind for the next resident. I found mine in one of the storage sheds when I moved here over 6 years ago.  I also use a red plastic bow so that's it's not ruined by the weather.

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Now for a recipe that takes only 1 pound of ground beef~what a deal huh?

Baked Bean Quickie

1 pound ground beef, 1/4 cup chopped green pepper, 1/2 cup minced onion, 1/2 cup diced celery, one 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 2 tablespoons wine vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and finally one (or two) can(s) of S & W or B & M Pork & Beans.

Brown the ground beef & drain (I put mine in a colander & rinse with hot water), then saute onions, green pepper & celery until tender and transparent. Then place all ingredients in a 2 quart oven proof bowl, mixing well and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour at 375 degrees. Serve with a veggie or a salad for a hearty meal.

NOTE: I don't always have garlic, celery, green pepper or even onion on hand.  So I use dried green pepper, celery salt, garlic powder & dried minced onion.   Also, there's usually a little glob of fat in the Pork & Beans...I always discard that.

This is so good and if you have any left overs, they are even better re-heated the next day.   Enjoy