Three Meat Crock Pot Cowboy Beans

BBQ beans with smoked sausage, bacon and ground beef made easy in the crock pot!

Ingredients:

• 1 20-oz. bag Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup dried bean mix
• 6 cups water
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound bacon
• 2 pounds smoked sausage
• 1 1/2 cups barbeque sauce
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add beans (with seasoning packet) and water to a large crock pot then cook for 4-6 hours on high or until beans are tender.
2. Meanwhile, cook onions with ground beef until beef is cooked through, seasoning with salt and pepper then set aside.
3. Cut bacon into small strips then cook until crispy and browned. Remove bacon from pan drippings then set aside.
4. Cut smoked sausage into bite-sized pieces then set aside.
5. Once beans are tender, ladle out any excess liquid; set aside to use later if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste, barbeque sauce and remaining ingredients, including the ground beef, bacon and smoked sausage. Gently stir to combine.
6. Add reserved liquid from cooking the beans, 1/2 cup at a time, if needed to ensure the contents of the crock pot have a nice, thick sauce. You don’t want things to be runny but you do want to make sure there’s enough sauce to coat everything nicely (such as with baked beans).
7. Continue cooking 1-2 hours on high or until sausage is heated through and everything is hot and bubbly.