New Years Tradition!

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OK -- it's almost New Years Day, so it's time for some blackeyed peas and greens to bring us luck!  I bet you’ll be looking for a tasty recipe with blackeyed peas – wish fulfilled!  Here are two perfect meat-free dishes for New Year’s!


Vegetarian Hoppin’ John 

Ingredients

• 2 15 oz. cans of blackeyed peas, drained 
• 1 small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped 
• 1 small green bell pepper, coarsely chopped 
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped 
• 1 package vegetarian ham (I like Litelife Smart Deli Baked Ham, but there are many other available brands), chopped into small squares 
• 1 tsp salt (to taste) 
• 2 tblsp olive oil 
• 3 cups cooked brown rice 
• sour cream 
• salsa verde

Instructions

1)  Heat olive oil in a pan.  Add green and red pepper and onion; saute until onion is almost translucent.  Add vegetarian ham and saute for about 2 more minutes. 
2)  Add blackeyed peas and salt to the vegetable/ham mixture.  Cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. 
3)  Serve over rice with sour cream and salsa.

Cornbread Soup

This is actually a recipe that I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe (January/February 2013) for Black-Eyed Peas and Cornmeal Dumplings, but we’ve changed it so much that we gave it a new name.  A big hit here at our house -- you can leave it with its mellow flavor or jazz it up with a hit of hot sauce.  Variety is the spice of life!

Ingredients

• 9 or more pieces of Morningstar Farms veggie bacon strips, cooked crispy
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 1 tblsp minced garlic
• 2 cups veggie broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 (15 oz.) cans blackeyed peas, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup chopped spring onions
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tblsp chilled butter, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup buttermilk
• hot sauce (optional)

Instructions
1)  Saute onion in a large pot with olive oil, for 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and saute another minute.  Add veggie broth, blackeyed peas, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  If more liquid is needed to make the blackeyed pea mixture “soupy,” add 1 to 1 1/2 cups water or veggie broth.
2)  In a separate bowl, combine flour, spring onions, cornmeal, baking soda, butter, buttermilk.  Mix well and form into little balls by hand.
3)  Drop the cornmeal balls into the blackeyed pea mixture and allow them to cook thoroughly – at least 10 minutes.
4)  Serve immediately, adding hot sauce if you want a little extra zing!  A great side dish for this meal is kale, sauteed in olive oil with chopped red bell pepper and garlic.
Enjoy!