• Recipes
  • Entertaining
  • Family
  • Life
  • Travel
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Snapchat
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Mama Harris' Kitchen

Bringing you tasty, family-style recipes with fresh local ingredients!

  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • Most Recent Posts
  • About
    • About Me – Mama Harris’ Kitchen
    • Press
    • Family Life
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Advertise / Sponsor
    • Privacy Policy

bacon black eyed comfort food crockpot ham herbs main dish New Year's peas recipe slowcooker soup southern food spicy

New Year’s Day Black eyed Peas

Happy New Year!!! I’m planning on making 2013 the best year yet!! We have a lot of plans for our family, our home, and this blog. I’m excited to see what’s to come!

This New Year’s Eve we spent at home with the kids. We rolled in the New Year with homemade noisemakers and pots and pans, dancing and singing. The kids stayed up, even the little ones, and I cooked my way into the New Year. Would you expect anything less?

All evening this slow cooked black eyed pea soup was cooking away, and we were all looking forward to our new tradition of eating lucky foods upon the arrival of the New Year. We started this tradition last New Year’s, and while nothing is perfect we definitely had a better year than years past. So we decided to continue it, and see how our “luck” turns out!

I’m a born and bred California girl, and my husband is Midwest born, but California raised. We both have deep roots both in the Midwest and Southern states and we love some Southern cooking. If you’ve been reading up on here for a while now, I’m sure you’ve seen that influence. The New Year’s Day “lucky” foods is no exception.

There are a few foods that are considered to be lucky if you eat them on New Year’s Day;

  • Pork is considered lucky, because when the pig eats he “roots forward” which would signify progress. The pig is typically portly, which means abundance. 
  • Fish are also lucky, because they swim forward (progress again) and their scales are similar to small coins which means money.
  • Cooked greens (spinach, collard/mustard greens, cabbage, kale, etc) when cooked look like folded money, which would mean money and prosperity.
  • Long noodles equal a long life. So don’t cut them, eat them long!
  • Peas, lentils, and beans all swell (or grow) when they cook and are likened to coins, which means good fortune and luck.
  • Some traditions eat 12 grapes at midnight, one grape for every month of the year. If you get a bitter grape that could mean that particular month will be a tough one.
There are also some foods that are considered to be unlucky if you eat them on New Year’s Day. Foods like Lobster are considered unlucky because they move backwards as they eat. Chicken and other fowl are considered unlucky because they scratch for their food. Who wants to scratch for their food for the year?
Some examples of good recipes for New Year’s Day in addition to this dish are Slow Cooked Pork Roast, Sweet Potato Pie, Sweet Cornbread,  Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Garlicky Bread Crumbs, and Baked Tilapia Packets.
Anyway, a lot of these are cultural traditions and superstitions. But I figure who couldn’t use a little boost in their good luck in the New Year? Of course, if there’s food involved I don’t mind trying something new either! What are your New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day traditions?
PRINT THIS RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups water
  • 1 vegetable bullion
  • 16 ounces dry black eyed peas, rinsed and dried
  • 4 slices uncooked bacon
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
  • 2 cups diced ham
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 can original rotel tomatoes
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 cups chopped fresh greens (spinach, mustard/collard, kale – I used kale this time)
Directions:
First rinse all the dried peas and pick out any brown ones. Place in slow cooker with water and bullion.
I like to heat my slow cooker as I’m prepping everything, so place the slow cooker on high. 
In a skillet, cook the bacon about halfway. Just till the color changes, but not till crispy.
Reserve the bacon grease and place the bacon on a paper towel to cool.
Saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper in the bacon grease until vegetable are soft.
Break the bacon up into little pieces and stir into the slow cooker with the cooked veggies and cubed ham.
Add the spices, honey, and jalapeño and the can of rotel.
Cover and cook for 3 hours on high, then 2 hours on low.
Stir in chopped greens, cover and cook on low an additional 30 minutes until greens are soft.
The soup will be hot, so let stand a bit before serving.
Serve with cornbread and a southern style hot sauce.
Enjoy!

If you loved this here's more..

  • Sweet Smoky Peppered Baked BaconSweet Smoky Peppered Baked Bacon
  • Deli Sandwich Style SlidersDeli Sandwich Style Sliders
  • Easy Slow-Cooked Pork RoastEasy Slow-Cooked Pork Roast
  • Think Outside the Blog – Weekly Blog Hop – Week 19!Think Outside the Blog – Weekly Blog Hop – Week 19!

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • WhatsApp


6 Comments

Previous Post: « New Year’s Eve with Rwanda Path to Peace and Macy’s Culinary Council
Next Post: Think Outside the Blog – Weekly Blog Hop – Week 9! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Xenia G. says

    January 3, 2013 at 2:51 am

    Looks good!

    Reply
  2. Ruby says

    January 3, 2013 at 4:17 am

    What an awesome recipe I really enjoyed reading about the lucky foods. We are very superstitious! we ran out with our luggage so we could get lots of travel for the new year!

    Reply
  3. Melissa Libertad says

    January 3, 2013 at 8:35 am

    Oh, I love how you broke down and explained the foods with luck. I need to try doing this next year cause we all know we could all use any luck our way. I love that you mixed the greens with the beans. So yummy. I love both so this recipe is so awesome. 🙂

    Happy New year Amiga. 🙂

    Reply
  4. AutismWonderland says

    January 3, 2013 at 4:43 pm

    I’ve never had black eyed peas before – it looks great though!!
    Whenever I see such a fantastic detailed food post – I am just in awe. AMAZING POST!!

    Reply
  5. Julie says

    January 4, 2013 at 2:01 am

    Yummy! These look delish! Thanks for stopping by and linking up to the GYB Hop!

    BTW, I made that coconut chicken tonight. I made it a little different than your recipe. I used curry powder in it. It was delish!

    Have a great evening!

    Julie

    Reply
  6. Walking on Sunshine says

    January 4, 2013 at 1:52 pm

    This looks DELICIOUS! I have never had black eyed peas! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday! Please come back on Sunday to VOTE!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar


Read ALL about me here or you can email me at dawn@mamaharriskitchen.com
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Stay Updated!

Get all the latest tasty goodness straight to your inbox!

Privacy Policy

Seasonal Recipes

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Wings #ChicksWingIt #WingItWednesday | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Wings

Street Style Grilled Hot Dogs with Hebrew National #HebrewNationalSummer #ad | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Street Style Grilled Hot Dogs

Popular Categories

  • Main Dish Recipes
  • Chicken Recipes
  • Kid-Friendly Recipes
  • Side Dish Recipes
  • Veggie Recipes

Search by Category

Popular This Month

Weeknight Dinner Idea: Quick & Easy Chicken Teriyaki Bowl | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Quick & Easy Chicken Teriyaki Bowl

Savory Crepes with Turkey, Mushroom and Swiss Cheese | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Savory Crepes with Turkey, Mushroom and Swiss Cheese

Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Cream | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Cream

Sunrise Moscato Mimosas | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Sunrise Moscato Mimosas

Quick Pan-Fried Tilapia | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Quick Pan-Fried Tilapia

Follow on Instagram

Get all the latest recipes straight to your inbox!

Footer

You Might Also Like

Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Salad with Chipotle Ranch (ad) #BTBGrillingRecipes #IC | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Salad

Chili Rubbed Ribeye Tacos with Esquites (Elote Salad) #SaveMartSummer AD | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Chili Rubbed Ribeye Tacos with Esquites (Elote Salad)

Fresh Lentil Bean Salad AD #LoveALentil #LetsLentil | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Fresh Lentil Bean Salad

Grilled Pineapple Asparagus Salad | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Grilled Pineapple Asparagus Salad

Crunchy Broccoli-Apple Salad with Creamy Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing #BetterWithCraisins AD | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Crunchy Broccoli-Apple Salad with Creamy Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing

- View More Recipes Like This -

my foodgawker galleryEverywhere Society Member

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Mama Harris Kitchen

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.