Loaded Baked Beans

Ingredients

12 ounces diced bacon I prefer regular cut
1 pound ground beef
14 ounces sliced smoked sausage or Kielbasa sausage
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 cup diced green bell pepper
½ cup diced red bell pepper
1 (28-ounce) can baked beans
1 (15-ounce) can drained and rinsed dark red kidney beans
⅔ cup barbecue sauce
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper more or less to taste
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add 12 ounces diced bacon to a large oven-safe pot and cook over medium-high heat until crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the grease in a small dish and discard the rest.

Brown and crumble 1 pound ground beef in the same pot over medium-high heat until no pink remains, about 7-8 minutes. Drain the grease and reserve the meat with the bacon.

Add 14 ounces sliced smoked sausage to the pot and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the skillet and reserve with the bacon and beef. Drain any grease from the sausage.

Add the reserved bacon grease back to the pot, along with 1 cup diced sweet onion, 1 cup diced green bell pepper, and ½ cup diced red bell pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until softened, then add the beef, bacon, and sausage back to the skillet.

Stir in 1 (28-ounce) can baked beans, 1 (15-ounce) can drained and rinsed dark red kidney beans, ⅔ cup barbecue sauce, ½ cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.

Once heated through and combined, transfer the pot to the oven and bake for 40 minutes.