Cowboy Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon, divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 (16-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16-ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (16-ounce) cans pork and beans
• 1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, divided
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1/2 of the bacon and cook until it is crisp.

4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and crumble it into small pieces.

5. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet.

6. Add the ground beef and the onion to the bacon fat and cook, while crumbling, until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Drain the excess grease.

7. In a large bowl, add the crumbled bacon, the beef mixture, the kidney beans, the pinto beans, the Great Northern beans, the pork and beans, the tomato sauce, the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, the ketchup, the cider vinegar, the yellow mustard, the chili powder, the salt, and the black pepper and mix well.

8. Transfer the bean mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining uncooked bacon.

9. Evenly brush the remaining barbecue sauce on top of the uncooked bacon.

10. Bake the beans, uncovered, until the bacon is crisp, about 45-50 minutes.

11. Plate and serve.