Hoppin' John is traditionally made on New Year's Day to bring good luck and prosperity throughout the entire calendar year.
Today isn't January 1. Instead, it's September 21, the first day of fall. You remember the song from the musical, Mame? The one where it says "we need a little Christmas, right this very minute..." I think we could agree that we ALL could use a little good luck and prosperity right this very minute.
[edited 5:24 pm: okay, there's some disagreement over whether or not it's actually the first day of fall. It looks like I'm wrong---but the sentiment is still good!]
[edited 5:24 pm: okay, there's some disagreement over whether or not it's actually the first day of fall. It looks like I'm wrong---but the sentiment is still good!]
so here you go: Hoppin' John. If you win the lottery after eating, buy some crockpot books!
:-)
The Ingredients.
serves 10--freezes nicely!
1 pound dry black eyed peas, soaked overnight
4 cups chicken broth
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup instant rice (or use 1 cup already cooked rice, and stir it in at the very end)
1 (10.5-ounce) can Rotel
1 bunch of collard greens or kale, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Soak your beans overnight in a bunch of water and drain well in the morning and rinse in cool water. Put the beans directly into your slow cooker. If you don't have time to soak the beans overnight, that's okay! Instead, put them in a pot with a bunch of water and boil rapidly on the stove for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat off, and cover the pot. Let it sit for one hour, then drain and rinse and plop into the pot.
easy-peasy!
Once the beans are in the crock, add broth and sliced sausage. Stir in the rice and rotel. Add greens, and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Cover ( you may need to shove in greens to get the lid on nicely) and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours, or until the beans are soft. Stir well before serving.
The Verdict.
We've got 101 days left in the year---lots of time for good luck to happen!
This tastes wonderful. It has more of a casserole consistency than a soup or stew, and my whole family enjoyed this meal. I liked how the smoky sausage flavored the beans and the kale I used just kind of shriveled up and disappeared----we got a great punch of iron without notice.
other stuff you should make:
the first time I made black eyed peas, I wasn't impressed
but then I made this totally awesome black eyed pea soup
and guess what? I just plopped in Barbecue Beef and Beans to put on top of toasted Udi's white bread (LOVE THIS BREAD) for dinner, and check out the date on this post: 2 years ago today! ack! totally trippy.
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