Here is how we made the baked beans. 

For a serving for six people, you will need:
1 lb lima beans (other large beans would work too), 1.5-2lbs onions, and about 1-1.5 cups oil.

1. Leave the beans overnight in lots of water. Discard that water, pour new water and bring the beans to a boil, then strain, put new water, add 2-4 bay leaves, and bring to boil again.  Reduce the heat to low and cook until beans soften ("half-cooked"). Strain again and preserve the liquid. 

2. Slice onions (not very thin; 4mm, say). Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet and saute the onions until tender, adding salt and pepper to taste. When you're done, add sweet paprika (some hot paprika would also be OK) and mix well. The amount of paprika is also "to taste", say 2 tbsp. It should color these onions well. 

3. Cover the bottom of the baking dish (ceramic or metal) with 1/3 of the beans, then add a layer of 1/2 of the onions, then the second 1/3 of the beans, then the second 1/2 of the onions, then finally the last 1/3 of the beans. Add enough water (hot, preserved in step 2) to cover everything well. Cover with alu-foil.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 3-4 hours; uncover for the last 1/2-1 hour. The beans should be really soft and moist. 

The measures are approximate. I only measured beans and onions. It takes time to prepare, but it's nothing delicate. The ways to go wrong:

(a) If the beans are fully cooked in step 1, they will lose integrity in step 4.

(b) If you don't bake long enough, then, well, the beans will be hard.

(c) If you bake too long, or don't add enough water in step 3, then your food will be dry. To avoid this, monitor the beans as they are baking, and add (hot) water if the top gets too dry. 

This recipe is thanks to Ruzica and Sava 03-09-12