Feijoada (Black Bean Stew)

Trying to expand on my knowledge of Latin style cooking (since we all know how much I LOVE Mexican food) so I've been doing some searching. I keep looking for easy dishes to make and I also do my best to keep things as authentic as I can, however in this dish, ease won out and it's not totally authentic. Traditionally, this is made with several different parts of a pig, ears, tails etc, however as most Americans tend not to eat animal "parts" Feijoada has become a dish made with pieces of salt pork, different sausages, carne seca, etc. My version still uses pork, but I opted for kielbasa and pork chops as that is what was available to me at the time. I also chose to cook it in a crock pot, again opting for convince. Even with the few changes that I have made, this dish is still hearty and very tasty.

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What You Need:

1 c beef broth

2 bay leaves
3 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed*

1lb boneless pork chop, cut into 1 inch chunks

1lb smoked kielbasa (about 1 ring)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

1 orange, segmented

What To Do:

Combine all the ingredients in a crock pot/slow cooker and cook on low for about 6-8 hours or on high for about 4 hours. Smash some of the black beans with the back of a spoon to thicken the stew. Serve over rice with a nice pile of greens. Top the stew with a few orange segments.

*NOTE: You can use dried beans instead. Pick over and sort beans. Cover with cold water and let sit over night. In the morning drain the beans and add into the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients. Increase beef broth to 2 cups and cook on low for 8ish hours.