pork & beans Italian-style

With some porkchops thawing in the fridge, and absolutely no idea what to do with them, I searched one of my favorite cookbooks for a quick dinner idea. One recipe reminded me of a familiar dish my mother used to cook, which was a pork and beans casserole using store-bought canned pork and beans. What I used for my version here was a can of black-eyed peas, which was what I had in the pantry. Lately, I’ve never been afraid to substitute. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s the joy of experimenting with food and different tastes, I guess. Trial and error is part of the learning experience. For this dish, sliced porkchops were marinated in lemon juice, salt & pepper for a few minutes. The pork pieces were pan-fried in a small amount of olive oil until browned. In same pan, thinly sliced sausages were also cooked until slightly toasted. Chopped onions were sauteed with fresh tomatoes, red and green bell peppers. Return the pork and sausages to the pan and cook together for a few minutes. Simmer in some tomato sauce or tomato paste. Add some italian seasoning. Drain & rinse the canned beans well and add last. Sprinkle chopped Italian parsley for garnish before serving.