The coolest part about my girls getting older is that they are starting to get really excited about holidays and they look forward to them. They couldn't wait for Thanksgiving and all the people to come over and then, like pretty much every kid, they were REALLY excited about Christmas.
Of course, you blink and then it is New Years. We always let our kids be up for the ball drop, we have done it since our first was born. Of course we don't let them stay up until the ball drops, they go to bed at their normal time and we wake them up about 11:30 and have tasty snacks and sparkling cider while we watch the ball drop and then they go back to bed. This year it took about 2 hours for them to fall back asleep but at least they slept later on New Years Day.
Since I live in the South, I grew up eating black eyed peas on New Years Day but my Mom never made a special dish, she would just heat up a can of black eyed peas and we would have it as a side dish. I had never even heard of Hoppin John until I came across it a few months ago on another blog. It sounded awesome so I decided I would make that on New Years. As I started searching for the best recipe I noticed that Hoppin John seemed kind of like Chili in that there are a few things it has to contain to be considered Hoppin John but beyond that, everyone kind of has their own recipe.
Instead of following someone elses recipe, I just made my own. I only had canned black eyed peas in my pantry and I used brown rice instead of white but it tasted really good! Mr. Gem and myself both really liked it as did a friend of ours who was over visiting. Without further adieu, here is my own recipe for Hoppin John.
Hoppin John
6 strips of bacon
2 or 3 bunches of green onions
6 cloves garlic
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
4 cups cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to taste
Use a deep sauté pan and first cook the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, chop up the green onions and garlic. Pull the bacon off and set on paper towels to allow it to drain. Leave the drippings in the pan and toss in the onions and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes or until soft then add your black eyed peas and rice. Cook for several minutes using salt and pepper to adjust the flavor until it is warmed all the way through. Crumble bacon and sprinkle on top and eat!
Surprisingly satisfying and lucky too! On a side note, isn't that serving dish it is in awesome? I got that as a Christmas present and of course, I just had to use it.
I hope you remembered to eat your black eyed peas and lets all have a wonderful lucky year!
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