While Monday is the traditional day for red beans in the South, it’s always better the second day and is all about the sides. I decided to pair my leftover beans with a sweet and spicy glazed pork chop.  You can always add a side steamed or sautéed vegetable of choice.  I had sautéed rainbow Swiss chard that I kept simple with a few seasonings and steamed. I know most people have family recipes for red beans so this is more of an idea for an alternative. I sometimes add additional pork and skip the bell pepper but it really depends on what I am in the mood for. I also made a pitcher of fresh strawberry lemonade that is a great pairing with vodka for the adult version. I’ll save that recipe for a summer cocktail post. 🙂 Below are the ingredients and directions for the beans and the pork chops.

Ingredients Red Beans:

• 1lb Camilla red beans
• 1 lb. sausage of your choice
• 3 large bay leaves
• 12 cups of water
• 1 large yellow onion (1 ½ cups)
• 1 small green bell pepper diced (1 cup)
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. sea salt
• 1 tbsp. coarse black pepper
• 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 cup of rice

Ingredients Pork Chops:

• 2 thin pork chops (if four, double the dry ingredients below)
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. coarse black pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. honey per chop

Directions:

1. Peel and dice onion. Wash and dice bell pepper. Add to a pot over medium heat.
2. ­ Stir once the onion and pepper begins to sizzle and add the red beans. Add a ½ cup of water to prevent sticking and let top to contain heat. Once the beans begin to wrinkle, add 4 cups of water until beans are covered in water and bay leaves. Let cook for 1.5 hours.
3. Once beans have been cooking for an hour and a half, you should be able to smash some of the beans with the back of your spoon against the side of the pot. This makes the beans creamy. Add another 4 cups of water.
4. Slice sausage into ½ inch slices and add sausage and other seasoning.
5. Let cook for another hour.
6. With 20 minutes left of the hour for the beans, remove chops from fridge and let sit for 10 minutes to remove chill.
7. Add the cup of rice to a small pot and rinse and drain with cool water. Add a cup of water and bring to a boil. Once it begins to boil, add a pinch of salt, top it and reduce to low heat. Set timer for 20 minutes.
8. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Season one sider with half of the seasonings excluding the honey and flip over to season the other side. Drizzle honey on top.
9. Broil in the oven for 10 minutes. (you can also pan fry it on the stove over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side.) Remove from the oven and turn off oven and stove.
10. Plate and enjoy! (You can add 1 tsp. of chopped green onion for garnish if preferred.)