New Years Yummy

Happy New Year! 2017 was a really great year, but I think 2018 is going to be even better!

To start the year off right, I made sure to cook my collards and black-eyed-peas. Thanks to Jimmy and Claire bringing cornbread to our NYE chili night, I had some delicious cornbread to soak up all the juice!

I used onion, salt pork, celery and garlic in my peas this time and it was FABULOUS! Would highly recommend. For the collards, I used some leftover ham (frozen) that I made on Christmas and they were also delicious. I added a little too much on red pepper flakes, but otherwise, they were solid. Below is the basic recipe and instructions, but feel free to change it up any way you'd like!

Black-eyed Peas

12 oz fresh peas
1/2 onion diced
1 celery stalk diced
2 small cloves garlic minced
3 pieces sliced salt pork (I got mine at Publix)
Chicken stock

Cook salt pork until crispy. Set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Cook onion, celery and garlic in the remaining pork fat until onions are translucent. Add peas, cooked salt pork and enough chicken stock to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce down to med-low heat to simmer for about 45-1 hour. I didn't add any salt since the pork is salty, but feel free to season to taste.


Collard Greens

1 bag of fresh/pre-washed collard greens
1/4-1/2 lb cooked ham
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
chicken stock/water

Cook onion in a small bit of olive oil or fat. Add red pepper and saute for about a minute. Add greens, ham, vinegar and enough chicken stock or water (I do a little of both) to cover. My ham was glazed in a brown sugar/mustard sauce, so I didn't add any sugar, but feel free to add some sugar if your ham is plain. Boil, then reduce temp down to medium and let simmer about 1 - 1.5 hours. Serve with pepper sauce. (Unless you add too much pepper like me and have to hold off on the heat!) Enjoy with some good old-fashioned cornbread.