CrockPot Black Eyed Pea Soup

Day 366.
because it's Leap Year.

Happy New Year's Eve! I made the most rockingest black eyed pea soup yesterday, and I take back everything I said last year about black eyed peas. They aren't gross. I just didn't know what I was doing.
And thank you also for all of the emails explaining pig anatomy. I get it now.

Although this is the end of my year-long challenge, the blog will not die, and I will not go hide in a corner in the fetal position. I promise.

Eating black eyed peas on New Years Day is good luck and is said to bring prosperity which can't be a bad thing. Ring in 2009 on the right note. Make this soup.

The Ingredients.

--1 pound dried black eyed peas
--1 pound spicy sausage (I used Aidells chicken habanero and green chile)
--6 cups chicken broth
--1 yellow onion, diced
--1 cup diced carrots
--1 cup diced celery
--4 cloves garlic, diced
--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (not pictured. I didn't know I needed it at first. But I did.)
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--Tabasco sauce (to add at the end to taste)

The Directions.

Soak your beans overnight. Drain and pick out the undesirables (broken, discolored beans) in the morning.

Use a 5 to 6 quart crockpot. This will serve about 8 people. Dice the veggies, and dump them into your crockpot with the pre-soaked beans. Add sliced sausage. Pour in broth, and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 6. Before serving, use a stick blender to smash up about 1 cup of beans. If you don't have a stick blender, scoop out 1 cup of beans, blend them in a traditional blender, and add back to the soup. Don't blend too much---just enough to get the broth thicker and creamy-looking.

Ladle into bowls, and add Tabasco sauce to taste.

The Verdict.

This tastes amazing. I am so glad that I tried cooking black eyed peas again---they are earthier than other beans and make a fantastic soup base. I've got a few different tupperwares ready to go for lunches for the next few days. My brother and sister-in-law liked it too. The kids didn't taste it---they had spaghetti for dinner.