Crockpot Baked Beans

1 lb. dried navy beans

¼ - 1 lb. bacon (Use 1 lb. meat, can mix bacon, smoked sausage, pork, etc.)

1 med. onion, chopped

2 jalapenos, chopped (Remove seeds and membrane for a milder product.)

¼ c. tomato paste

¼ c. brown sugar

¼ c. molasses

chicken broth

¼ t. cayenne pepper

1 t. black pepper

2 t. kosher salt

Soak beans in a plastic container overnight in enough cold water to submerge them completely. Check them once or twice to make sure there is enough water to keep the beans covered.

Drain the soaked beans and reserve the soak water.

Chop the bacon (and other meats) and cook them in a skillet until the fat begins to render from the pork. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook until the onion is translucent and the bacon is mostly cooked. Set this aside.

Add about 1 c. of the soak water to the crockpot and stir in the tomato paste, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Add the beans to the crockpot and add enough of the soaking liquid to cover the beans by about 1 in. Use chicken broth, if more liquid is needed. Stir the beans.

Layer the bacon-onion-pepper mixture on top of the beans. Set the crockpot to high and cook for 1-2 hours.

Stir the bacon-onion-pepper mixture into the beans, decrease the crockpot to low and continue cooking until the beans are soft (4-6 hours). Check the beans occasionally, adding more liquid, if necessary.