Calico Beans

I made these beans for William's Baptism and a few people have asked me for the recipe. My mother-in-law cut it out of the Plain Dealer a few years ago. The only thing that we do differently is cook the bacon seperately from the ground meat. If you don't, you just end up with some chunks of bacon fat in the beans.

Calico Beans
1 pound ground beef
1 pound bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans Bush's baked beans , 28 ounce/any flavor/undrained
16-ounce can lima beans , drained
16-ounce can butter beans , drained
16-ounce can kidney beans , drained and rinsed
16-ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons dry mustard

Cook's notes: The recipe calls for simmering in a crockpot and overnight refrigeration. If time is limited, skip the overnight step and simply serve hot the day it's prepared.

Brown the meat: In a large skillet, cook beef, bacon and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Set aside.

Combine, simmer ingredients: In a large crockpot, combine all ingredients. Start on high until ingredients are hot, then reduce heat to low, and cook for 6-7 hours. Refrigerate overnight.

Reheat: When chilled, remove any fat from the surface. Reheat on low setting for 3-4 hours.

Presentation: Leftovers freeze nicely.