Easy Cowboy Beans

My family eats this as a main dish, usually with cornbread, but it's a wonderful side dish for picnics, potlucks, and camping. We like it sweet, so we add another 1/4 cup of brown sugar, but you could also spice it up by adding jalapenos or another kind of chilies. It's even good cold! It freezes very well, too.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 8-12

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb bacon
• 1⁄2 lb ground beef
• 1  onion
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup ketchup
• 2  tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can lima beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can  pork and beans

Directions

1. Cook bacon until crispy. Drain and crumble. Put in large pot.
2. Brown ground beef and onions together. Drain. Add to pot. (Bacon can be cooked with the ground beef and onions if cut into chunks. I use kitchen shears to just cut through all the slices--into about 1-1/2" chunks.).
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. DO NOT drain the beans! Stir everything together.
4. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for about an hour. If you're going to let it simmer, don't add the lima beans right away, as they tend to fall apart.
5. These are generally better the next day, but are might fine the same day!