A Not Entirely Traditional New Year's Day Tradition

There are a lot of Hoppin' John recipes out there.  This one is a combination of several of them. I used a crockpot, but you could also do this on the stove.  Keep an eye on the liquid if cooking on the stove- you may need to add more due to evaporation.  It's simple, and tasty, and goes well with cold weather.

Hoppin' John

1 pound dried black eyed peas, rinsed and soaked overnight (or 8+ hours, depending on when you are starting)
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, chopped small
2 stalks celery, chopped small
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 cup rice (uncooked)
(1 ham hock OR beef bone OR chicken OR turkey ham OR turkey bacon -( about 1/2 to 1 pound) OR nothing)
4 cups broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp Creole seasoning* (1 Tbsp if you like heat)

After soaking, rinse and drain beans.  Dump into crockpot.
Add everything else.
Set crockpot to desired cooking time ( I did 8 hour/slow)

Traditionally served with greens (collard, mustard, chard, whatever) and cornbread.  Jiffy brand mix is a cheap and tasty option.

This makes quite a lot, which leads to the leftovers known as Skippin' Jenny.  You could shorten the cooking time by using canned black eyed peas, but it's so good this way.

*available in the spice aisle.  It's a blend of peppers, garlic, salt, and some other stuff.

Enjoy :)