Mother Earth’s Baked Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound thick-cut bacon
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce (such as Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 (28 ounce) can baked beans (such as Bush’s Original)
• 2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (16 ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (16 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels; reserve about 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in the skillet. Crumble bacon and transfer to a slow cooker.

Cook and stir ground beef and onion in bacon drippings in skillet over medium heat until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer ground beef mixture to the slow cooker.

Mix brown sugar, barbeque sauce, ketchup, mustard, molasses, liquid smoke flavoring, black pepper, and chili powder in a bowl; pour over ground beef-bacon mixture. Stir well. Add baked beans, kidney beans, Great Northern beans, and pinto beans; mix well.

Cook on Low for 6 hours; refrigerate overnight for 8 hours. Reheat in slow cooker until warmed, at least 1 hour.