Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

Recipe Search

Great Northern Beans with Sausage and Pork Chops

This time of year. . .I love to enjoy the fragrance of a slow cooker meal getting better and better as the day goes along.  You'll need to start this dish the day before by soaking your beans.  Great Northern beans are a good choice for this dish as they won't be as prone to fall apart during a long cooking period. 
  • 1 pound or one 500 gram bag Great Northern Beans (rinsed and soaked overnight in a 6 cup measuring cup filled to the top with cold water)
  • 2 pounds or about 1 kilogram fast fry boneless pork chops
  • salt and pepper to season
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 heaping tablespoon bottled minced garlic.  ..or about 6 cloves minced
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, with the juice
  • 1 ring kielbasa or farmer sausage cut into bite-sized pieces  (optional. . you could cut both amounts of meat in half if you prefer less meat)
  • 1/3 cup pot barley
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon summer savoury
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 can tomato paste  (added after the beans are cooked through)
  • handful fresh parsley  .about 1/2 cup chopped
  1. Drain your beans and place in the bottom of your slow cooker.
  2. Preheat a large fry pan over medium-high heat. .do  not use non-stick unless it is all you have.  You want to brown the meat and non-stick does not do this easily.  Spray your pan with cooking spray and add the oil. 
  3. Sprinkle your chops with salt and pepper and begin to brown them. Don't crowd the pan. .or they'll just poach instead of fry.  As they brown, flip them over and brown the other side and then transfer them to the slow cooker.  Repeat until all the chops have browned.
  4. Add the onion to the pan and stir while it starts to turn translucent add the garlic and wine. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Add this to the pot and then add the rest of the ingredient (except the tomato paste)
  6. Add the tomato paste once the beans are cooked through.
  7. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low 10 - 12  hours or high 6-8 hours.  The best idea is to make it a day ahead and then reheat it the following day.  The flavors will continue to get better.
Use spoons or forks, your choice. ..but be sure to serve with crusty buns.

16 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious, and I can just imagine the wonderful way it would make your house smell! Nice photograph!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum... yum... YUMMMMM!!! I love my crockpot & I love soup... so this is definitely going on my "To Try..." list. Thanks so much for sharing!!

    Happy New Year~ Andrea
    xoxoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh this is comfort food on a cold winter's day. I'll have to try this soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pork and beans never sounded so good! I will let you know when I try this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. On my list for things to buy
    Slow Cooker
    Food Processor
    Bread maker...I need a 2nd job

    This looks so good

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks mighty tempting, will be making it soon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mmmm... I can smell it! I LOVE cooked beans - home made delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Made this on January 6, 2011. This is the best bean dish I've ever made, great flavor! I did make a few substitutions though - used a 2 lb. lean pork roast instead of chops, and used a one lb. cumberland sausage instead of farmers. Had no white wine, so used pineapple juice. Used dry mint in place of summer savory (it's supposed to be similar in flavor). Did not use fennel seed, and subbed 1 tbsp. dry parsley for fresh. My only further comment - I think there is too much meat in this dish. Two pounds total would be sufficient. I'd prefer to go the sausage route for all the meat; it's still more tender than cooked pork roast, and probably pork chops as well. All in all, a great find - thanks for the recipe. Love your blog! Also, the caramel corn curls were a great hit at our house for Christmas - we made 3 batches!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I made this for another one of those nights where everyone is eating at different times, due to sports and work. I put everything in the slow cooker at 9:30am. The first one to eat it at 5pm, said that the beans were too hard and it was soup (quite liquidy). The last person to eat at 10pm, said it was good. So I guess it takes longer. I am one for intense flavours, so this was not my favourite, but still a good healthy meal that can be served over a span of hours. I only used the farmer sausage and skipped the chops.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This looks like a very good recipe. I'm wondering about the beans cooking with tomato paste in the pot though. In my experience, and according to my research, beans need to be all the way cooked before adding tomatoes. I'm assuming you've made the dish and it works, but why?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks Sue,
    It did work for me but perhaps I left it simmering longer. The beans were definately cooked through when I served it. Maybe add the tomato paste at the end. I will change the recipe to reflect that hint. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I did some research about cooking the beans with tomatoes and it seems that though the beans may stay intact instead of becoming mushy. . .you may want them that way.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I would love to make this, can you tell me what is pot barley? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Peggy,
    Sure. .pot barley can be found in Canada by the dried beans and so on. Pot barley is probably really similar to regular dried barley, but I've only ever used the Pot Barley. Give it a try and let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Replies
    1. I would say it should be plenty for 20 people.

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.