Franks & Beans: Recipe

Last week it was so cold I was desperate for recipes that would warm the kitchen and the house, so I made baked beans. It was a long slow recipe that took 7 hours of baking. I used salt pork, onions, molasses, brown sugar and spices. The beans were good, but I got tired of eating them plain, so I made my version of franks and beans.

I hesitate to post this recipe because, it is pure white trash cooking, not exactly my specialty. But the truth is, it's delicious! I've seen this recipe called something like "Hawaiian Beans" which is kind of interesting because of course pineapple comes from Hawaii, and beans are very popular in Hawaii, especially in Portuguese Bean Soup. But also because this recipe has frankfurters in it. All kinds of processed meat--specifically Spam and hot dogs are very common in Hawaii and make their way into fusion food like Spam musubi and hot dog maki sushi.

While my parents have very sophisticated tastes, I credit them with this very budget friendly recipe. They made it with Heinz vegetarian beans, probably kosher hot dogs and French's prepared mustard. But what I've discovered is that it works well with baked beans, any kind of sausage and any kind of mustard you like. It's really less of a recipe than a formula. Please, don't hate me for posting it! I promise I will get back to regular programming shortly!

Franks & Beans, "Hawaiian Style"
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

4 cups canned or homemade beans, about 2 cans
4 hot dogs or sausages, any kind you like, sliced into bite sized chunks
1 cup canned pineapple chunks
3 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoon mustard, any kind you like

Instructions

Dump all of the ingredients into a large saucepan or dutch oven and gently heat through. Season to taste with additional mustard, ketchup, etc. Enjoy!