This weekend we headed down to the Lake of the Ozarks and spent some time Saturday evening with some friends watching the Mizzou Tigers destroy the Southeast Louisiana Lions. While Mizzou scored touchdown after touchdown, we enjoyed some BBQ pork steaks, deviled eggs and my new favorite bean dish ever – Cowboy Beans!!
Ever had Cowboy Beans before? I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I can’t. I stumbled upon it online and decided to give it a try. They were DELICIOUS!!! I didn’t take a photo of my beans, but I found the picture below online (http://www.lawfullyweddedwife.com/2012/06/10/bbq-night/).
Cowboy Beans
INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound lean bacon
1 pound ground chuck, lean
1 large onion
1/4 cup green pepper, diced (I used 1/2 cup for a little extra flavor)
1 can pork ‘n beans, 16 oz
1 can red kidney beans, 16 oz
1 can butter beans, 16 oz
1 can baby lima beans, 8 oz
1 can great northern beans, 16 oz
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup molasses or maple syrup (I used maple syrup)
1 jar barbecue sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
PREPARATION:
Cut bacon into 1/4″ bits (I cooked the bacon and then cut it up afterwards); brown in a large skillet. Remove bacon from rendered fat and set aside. In the bacon drippings, saute the onion & pepper until tender. Add the ground meat and brown lightly. Put the meats into the bottom of a crockpot. Add the Pork ‘n Beans with the liquid on them. Drain most of the juice off of the remaining cans of beans and add them with the remaining ingredients to the crockpot. Add all remaining ingredients. Mix all well. Cook on HIGH setting for 1 hour to get well heated through, then lower heat setting to LOW and allow to cook for 5 – 6 hours. Stir from time to time.
ENJOY! This was the favorite dish of the night. This is somewhat healthy too. Cooking the onions and the peppers in the bacon grease was the worst part. 
Next time I’m going to use it with ground Elk meet.
Beth
