New Year's Day Black-Eyed Peas

Happy New Year! I don't know where 2013 went, as it flew by, but 2014 has already gotten off to a good start.I guess we are showing our age since we missed the Ball Drop at midnight. However, I didn't miss getting a crock pot of black-eyed peas started to enjoy the first day of the year before I checked out for the night. We will be fixing up hog jowl, cornbread, stewed potatoes and "mini-cabbages" (Brussels Sprouts). We normally have stewed cabbage or turnip greens, but we thought we would try this for a change. This simple meal should guarantee plenty of health, luck, blessings, coins and folding money coming our way this year.

Sort through a 1 lb. bag of dried black-eyed peas. (Remove stones, bad peas, etc.) Line a crock pot with a crock pot liner to make clean up easy. Pour beans into pot. Add a chunk of hog jowl or other fat meat. Cover beans and meat with water. Season with salt. Set crock pot to low.

After beans have cooked/soaked a few hours, Stir and add additional water if needed. Continue to cook until beans are tender. I let these go for around 10 hours total. When I got up this morning, they were ready to eat. The texture of the pea was soft but not mushy. It's really easy to overcook peas, so be sure to check them periodically.