Hop to It! - Hoppin' John Two Ways

There are lots of New Year's traditions - watching the ball drop at Times Square, making a champagne toast, kissing at midnight, and eating cabbage rolls or blackeyed peas with pork for dinner.  Cabbage and blackeyed peas are both supposed to bring good luck and prosperity.  Even though it's a New Year's tradition, I'll eat blackeyed peas any time!

One of my favorite ways to fix blackeyed peas is Hoppin' John, also known as Carolina peas and rice, but I like the vision of some guy hopping up and down.  I have two ways to make it - a lazy way, and a not-so-lazy way.  If you want an even less lazy way, you can start with dried blackeyed peas, but I'm too lazy for that!  Here's the lazy way:

Hoppin' John (super easy!)

2 15-oz cans of Marjorie Holmes Hoppin' John, undrained

10 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

10 dashes of Tabasco sauce

3 T brown sugar

4 c cooked rice

Dump the first four ingredients into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer 20 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Hoppin' John (still easy!)

10 slices bacon, cut up

1/2 c chopped onion

1/2 c chopped celery

1/2 c chopped bell pepper

1/2 c chicken broth

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

2 15-oz cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

10 dashes of Tabasco sauce

3 T brown sugar

4 c cooked rice

In a 2-qt saucepan, cook the bacon until almost crisp.  Add the chopped vegetables and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the canned tomatoes, blackeyed peas, Tabasco, and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.