Happy New Year!

I can’t believe tomorrow is the last day of 2011! Am I the only one who gets emotional at New Year’s? I always get teary.

Do you follow any sort of “good luck” thing on New Year’s? I started doing the cabbage and black eyed peas thing a couple of years ago. I had never heard of any sort of thing about eating certain things on New Year’s for luck in the year until my friend from Texas told me about cabbage and black eyed peas. So I decided what could it hurt right? For the past 3 years I have made cabbage(fried, mmm) and a black eyed pea dip every New Year’s. And since while we have a long way to go, the past few years have been the best years we’ve ever had financially(no, we don’t have money, but bills are paid and food is on the table with a little extra to actually buy other things once in a while…more than can be said for the rest of all the years we’ve been together). So while I’m not an uber superstitious person or anything like that, I’m willing to keep up this simple tradition.

I’m not a big pea/bean person but to eat the black eyed peas I found a recipe for a dip, I LOVE dips and this one is very tasty and very spicy! I make it up on New Year’s Eve and have it both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day….it makes a LOT, so unless you have lots of help eating it you will be eating for a few days, so you might want to cut the recipe in half.

I can’t remember where I saw the original recipe, but I had to make changes to it because some of the ingredients we don’t have here in Canada. I believe the original recipe had a can of Rotel instead of the diced tomatoes/chilies separate. Oh how I miss Rotel, sadly I’ve only seen it once in Calgary and that was in a little Mexican store that is no longer there, and it was pretty expensive(I remember with coupons in Texas I used to get it for soooo cheap). So if you’re in the US you can just use Rotel….and maybe send me a few or 12 cans .

Good Luck Black Eyed Pea Dip

• 2 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 (4 ounce) can jalapenos
• 1 onion , diced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (4 ounce) can chilies
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese(I usually use marble)

Mash the Black Eyed Peas with a fork, leave some of them whole. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Spread into a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.

Eat with tortilla chips, crackers, and/or veggies.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year!!

Jolene