Thursdays Are For Cooking!

This one comes from Betty C again, and it not only looks good; it also looks easy and it only requires a small amount of elbow grease plus your good old Crockpot. The recipe notes say it should give you up to 10 servings.

Not only is it easy to fix, but when you come in from rototilling the garden and mulching the leaves on the lawn to return nutrients to the soil, your house will smell like heaven. All you need for dessert is a good, hearty pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and a good, hot cup of coffee or black tea with it.

Ingredients for Beef, Pork and Beans

1 lb dried black beans (2 cups), sorted, rinsed

4 slices bacon, diced

1 lb boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 1½ inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1¼ cups Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz box)

1 smoked ham hock (about 1 lb)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Collard Greens

2 bunches of collard greens (about 2 lb) N.B.: See notes below about substituting kale for collard greens.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Accompaniments:

5 cups cooked white rice (you can substitute wild rice here, too)

3 oranges

Prepping Steps

1 – Soak beans in cold water 8 hours or overnight.

2 – Spray 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

3 – Heat 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until crispy and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to slow cooker. Season pork shoulder with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook pork in bacon drippings 3 minutes on each side or until well browned. Transfer pork to slow cooker.

4 – Season chuck beef evenly with remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Add to the skillet; cook about 3 minutes on each side or until well browned. Place in the slow cooker. Reduce heat of skillet to medium; add onions to the skillet. Cook about 4 minutes or until softened. Add 4 cloves garlic; cook 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker. Stir to combine.  Save the bacon grease for another dish, like scrambled eggs.

5 – Drain beans; add beans, broth and ham hock to slow cooker.  Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 hours, or until beans and meat are tender.

6 – Remove the ham hock; let it cool enough to handle it without kitchen tools. Remove meat from the hock; shred into small pieces, and return the meat to the slow cooker. Stir in the apple cider vinegar.

7 – Meanwhile, cut away tough stalks and stems from collard greens. Wash collards thoroughly. Stack up several leaves, and roll up lengthwise in a bundle; cut them into 1-inch strips. Repeat until all the leaves are shredded.

8 – In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add 4 cloves of garlic; cook about 2 minutes or until the garlic is starting to brown. Add the greens; toss well with oil and garlic. Cook 2 to 4 minutes or until wilted. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

9 – Serve beef, pork and beans over white rice with collard greens and orange segments.

Expert Tips

Kale greens make a nice substitute for the collard greens in this recipe.

Orange segments give this dish a bright, fresh flavor. If you don’t want to take the time to segment the oranges, you can also just cut them into wedges and serve alongside. You can also use canned mandarin oranges in place of fresh oranges.

Category: Economy