Cowboy Baked Beans

Brown your bacon and cut into pieces. Saute your chopped onion in the bacon fat and add your ground beef and brown it, too. Make sure to drain off the fat or the beans will be greasy and gross. (If you want to remove more fat, you can always put the browned meat in a colander and run warm water over it.) You can always omit the chopped onion and replace it with a generous sprinkling of onion powder (not onion salt). My kids used to freak out when they saw the onions so I opted for the onion powder.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well (but gently). Place in a large casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees until the beans get thick. If they seem to be getting too dark, cover with foil. It usually takes me about 30 – 45 minutes to bake them.

Great recipe to take to a cookout, covered dish, or to serve as a one-dish meal. We take this recipe on our boat on July 4th. We meet all our friends, tie the boats together and have a picnic on the lake and watch the fireworks.

This recipe is always a hit with the kids, especially when you call them “Cowboy Beans.”

Note: Baked beans and pork and beans are basically the same thing and can be used interchangeably. This recipe also doubles really well. It’s a very forgiving recipe.