Recipe Box: Homemade Hoppin' John

The New Years tradition for a lot of Southern families is to have a pot of black-eyed peas on New Years day for good luck throughout the year. Well before 2014 ended I heard a few of my coworkers talking about making Hoppin' John. Never having heard of this before, I asked them what it was and how they made it. Granted I was given several ways to make it, I decided to take the things that I liked best out of the recipes that were given to me and whipped up my own Hoppin' John for New Years. If you'd like to make a pot for yourself, just continue reading.

Homemade Hoppin’ John (aka Black-eyed Peas and Rice)

Ingredients

2 cups black-eyed peas, cleansed

2 cups white rice

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1-teaspoon dry thyme leaves

1-quart chicken stock

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 cayenne pepper

Directions

1) Heat butter in a large stock pot

2) Once melted add chopped onion, celery, green pepper, red pepper and minced garlic - sauté for about 4 minutes

3) Add rice, black-eyed peas, chicken stock, dry thyme leaves, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper to pot – mix well and bring to a boil

4) Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until the peas are tender, stir occasionally – if liquid evaporates during this time just add more chicken stock or water

5) Serve and enjoy!

Are you going to give this recipe a try? If so, I would love to know how it turned out for you! Please leave a comment below.