Mom's Crock Pot Beans

My wonderful mother-in-law bought us (well, me) a large crock pot when we got married. I've been trying to come up with recipes for the crock pot because I love the idea of throwing a bunch of food in the pot, turning it on and coming home to dinner already made! In my hunt for recipes, I raided my mother's cook books. My mom got this recipe from a friend and it has become a family favorite!

Crock Pot Beans

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. bacon, cut into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion, diced

1/2-1 lb. kielbasa or ham, cut into chunks (optional) I always use kielbasa because I love it

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. ketchup

1/2 c. BBQ sauce of your choice I used hickory flavored

2 T. molasses

2 T. dry mustard

1 large can butter beans I used one 15oz. can butter beans and one 15oz. can of white beans

1 large can pork and beans

1 large can red beans

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

Brown beef with the onion and bacon. Cook until done. The bacon does not have to brown, you just want to start the cooking process and get rid of some of the grease. Once the meat is cooked, drain the grease and add it to the crock pot. Add the keilbasa or ham chunks to the pot.

Then you add everything else in the pot. You can't really mess this up, since you're just dumping all the ingredients in the pot. Stir it all around to break up the brown sugar and other powdery ingredients.

Cook on high for 3 hours.

Serve with bread or a salad.

Enjoy!