Calico Beans With Adobo Sauce

Great beef and bean dish for the crock-pot. Goes over well at potluck parties. The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce add a nice background flavor. I found this recipe in one of the many crock-pot cookbooks my husband has. A tip for using chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: open the can, de-seed the peppers and put them, and the sauce, in a food processor. Process and store in the refrigerator for easy use in any dish you'd like.

• Ready In: 5 hrs
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1  lb bacon, browned crisp and crumbled
• 1  lb hamburger, browned
• 1  onion, chopped
• 1  tablespoon  minced garlic
• 5 -6  cans  of assorted 15 oz  beans (kidney, navy, pinto, garbanzo, lima, black, butter, etc)

• Sauce

• mix together

• 3 -4  chopped chipotle chiles in adobo (or 3-4 Tbsp of the processed adobo sauce from the tip in the recipe description above)
• 2⁄3 cup  lightly packed brown sugar
• 4  tablespoons vinegar (any flavor)
• 2  cups catsup
• 2  teaspoons prepared mustard
•  salt and pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Fry hamburger, onion, and garlic until cooked. Drain off grease. Add cooked and crumbled bacon.
2. Empty cans of drained and rinsed beans into crock pot. Add meat mixture. Add sauce. Stir. Heat on low for 4 hours. Can also be made on the stove top and simmered to boiling. Serve with bread or rolls.
3. This is great re-heated and great for taking to work for lunches.