New Year's Luck - Black Eyed Peas with Brown Rice

Happy New Year!

Here in the South, our good luck charm for the new year is to make black eyed peas with rice. An old myth mentions the peas looking like old coins, although I don't see a resemblance. A few people even throw a dime into the dish to see who comes out the luckiest, but knowing my luck, I'd be the person who swallows it instead - and that's not how I want to start out my year.

I chose to cook everything together in a crock pot, but I had never cooked rice in a slow cooker before, and it came out over done. It still tastes great, but it's not a looker. Preparing the rice and peas first, then placing the sausage and extras over the top might make for a better presentation.

Black Eyed Peas with Brown Rice

Printable Recipe

32 oz black eyed peas
14 oz brown rice

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp coriander

1 tbsp olive oil

2 organic chicken sausages

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves

Rinse and drain the black eyed peas and add to a crock pot set to high. Next add the ingredients of brown rice through coriander and stir well.

Add the olive oil to a shallow pan and set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken sausages and cook until all sides are browned. While the sausages are cooking, roughly chop the onion and garlic. Once the sausages have browned, move to a cutting board to cool, and in the same pan, add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 min until translucent. Slice the sausages thinly, and add to the crock pot with the onion and garlic.

Allow the dish to cook for 4 hours on high heat, or cook for 6-8 hours on medium heat. Check within the last hour for water level and for the softness of the rice. Garnish with green onions or parsley if desired.

~Yields 6-8 servings.

~Original by Brie.

Make sure to have some cornbread on the side! I used a cornbread recipe from Herbivoracious which was delicious!