New Years Day

Our traditional NY day dinner is ham hocks, black eyed peas and collards but the two places where I have gotten big meaty ham hocks before now both have something the call pork hocks but they are pork only because they come from a pig.  They are small, mostly bone, skin and fat.  There may be a couple bites of meat, if you take small bites.  Charlie is no fan of black eyed peas but he does like this dip I make with them.  The alternative to the ham hocks is ham and sausage cooked in a soup with some collards chopped fine and added with  some mushrooms.  Cornbread was served with it.

Ham and Bean Soup

Prep Time: 1 dCook Time: 3 hrsTotal Time: 1 d 3 hrsServings: 6Calories: 414Author: Amanda Formaro

Ingredients

Beans:

• 2 cups dried beans any variety
• 8 cups cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Soup:

• 8 cups fresh water I added chicken stock when more liquid was needed.
• 1 pound leftover ham or smoked sausage, ham hocks, whatever you have on hand I used ham and sausage
• 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes undrained
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• I added mushrooms.
• Instructions

Soaking the Beans:

• Add the beans to a large stock pot and cover them with the water.
• Stir in the baking soda.
• Soak overnight at room temperature.

Making the soup:

• Completely drain off the soaking water and rinse the beans well.
• Return beans to the pan and add the ham, canned tomatoes, and chopped onion.
• Bring to a full boil.
• Turn heat down to medium for a high simmer. Simmer for 2-3 hours, or until beans are tender.
• Add in salt, basil, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper.
• Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Notes

• This recipe is perfect for leftover ham after Christmas or Easter!
• Be sure to plan a day ahead for this meal as you will need to soak the beans overnight.
• Use a large stockpot when soaking beans. Beans can double or triple in size as they rehydrate.
• You CAN skip the overnight soak and bring the beans and water to a boil on the stove. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let it sit for a minimum of one hour. Please note that soaking the beans overnight eliminates some of the sugar molecules that can make beans harder to digest.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 414cal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 1508mg | Potassium: 1225mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 228IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 6mg

New Years Black-Eyed Peas

Author: Sarah Olson

Prep time:  25 mins Cook time:  10 hours Total time:  10 hours 25 mins

Serves: 6 servings  I added some Old English Cheese to some before I reheated it in the microwave.

Ingredients

1 lb. black-eyed peas

1 (32-oz.) box chicken broth

1 (14-oz) can petite diced tomatoes

6 slices bacon, cooked and sliced

1 cup diced ham

½ cup diced sweet onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. pepper

about ¼ tsp. salt (add to taste at the END of cooking time)