Southern Style Black Eyed Peas

It’s New Years Eve which means you should have your bags of dried black eyes ready to be soaked tonight so they can be ready to be cooked for New Years Day dinner. Being from the South, my mother always made black eyed peas, collard greens and some type of pork for New Years Day dinner. Southern tradition says that the first food to be eaten on New Year's Day should be black-eyed peas for luck and prosperity and the collard greens are eaten for wealth! This recipe for my homemade black eyed peas is really easy to follow and since the peas are cooked in chicken broth they come out so flavorful. If you try my black eye pea recipe, let me know how they turned out. Happy New Year and thanks for subscribing to Spilling the  Sweet Tea! I forward to sharing more recipes with you in 2018 

Serves 8

2 pieces of hamhock or smoked turkey wings

2 bags of dried black eyed peas 

2 32 oz boxes of chicken broth 

1 whole onion 

1 teaspoon of minced garlic 

2 stalks of celery 

Salt and pepper 

1. Rinse and pick your peas and remove any spotted or discolored ones. Place peas in large bowl and cover with water. Soak the peas overnight.

2. Place two pieces of cooking meat in a large pot and add the two boxes of chicken broth. Season with just a little salt and pepper. Cover the pot and cook until the meat is tender.

2. Once the cooking meat is tender, add a whole onion, celery, garlic and peas to the pot. Season the peas with a little more salt and pepper. Stir and then cover the pot on medium heat for about an hour and a half. 

3. While cooking make sure you are checking on  your peas and stirring them ever half an hour. You want to make your sure peas cook evenly. 

4. Once you notice that your peas has made a gravy, then your peas are done. If you think your peas are too thick with gravy, add a little of water to loosen it up.  Remove the whole onion and celery. Pour into a serving dish and enjoy!