Baked Beans with Bacon

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake the bacon at 400°F until nice and crispy. Remove from the oven, let cool, then chop. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

In a large skillet, sauté the diced green pepper and onion in the reserved bacon grease over medium heat until softened.

Stir in the paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Cook for about one minute until fragrant.

Add the apple cider vinegar, barbecue sauce, ketchup, Dijon mustard, and brown sugar to the skillet. Stir to combine.

Pour in the can of baked beans and add most of the chopped bacon, reserving some for the topping. Stir everything together.

Optionally, add a few dashes of hot sauce. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings as desired.

Carefully pour the bean mixture into a large baking dish (such as a 9x13 inch pan).

Top with the remaining chopped bacon.

Bake at 400°F until hot and bubbly, about 30-40 minutes.