If you hail from Cajun country like I do, you believe that eating black-eyed peas (we call them black-eye peas) on Year’s Day will bring you luck and prosperity the whole year though. The legume is a staple of Southern diets, and it’s a healthy one: The black-eyed pea is protein-rich and contains calcium, folate and Vitamin A.
Want to add black-eyed peas to your New Year’s celebration? Nobody makes them like my mother, Baby Kay. Here’s her family recipe for black-eyed peas and cornbread dressing:
Baby Kay’s Black-Eyed Peas
Ingredients
1-pound bag dried black-eyed peas (pick out bad pieces, rinse, soak and drain)
2 quarts water
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, washed and chopped
1/4 cup green pepper
8- 10 pieces of bacon, chopped
Preparation
Wilt bacon in frying pan (do not drain fat)
Add veggies; cook til tender (bacon will become crisp)
Add peas and water
Season to taste with salt, cayenne red pepper and tabasco
Cook on low for 2 – 2 ½ hours (add water if it gets below peas)
Serve with rice and cornbread
On the side
Cornbread dressing
Serves 8 – 10
*Served as side dish ,not as stuffing
Ingredients
1 recipe corn bread (You can use a boxed mix, but choose one that’s not sweet)
½ cup chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 pound ground beef/sirloin or chuk
1 pound Jimmy Dean sausage (hot)
1 stick butter
1 cup toasted pecans
1 can Swanson’s chicken broth
Preparation
Brown meat. Break up meat well while cooking
Add celery, onion and bell pepper (the Cajun trinity) and cook til onions are clear but still crisp
Add 1 stick butter
Crumble in cornbread and add pecans
Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
Moisten with chicken broth as needed
Enjoy your New Year’s Day meal. We wish you luck and prosperity all year long!
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