New Year's Leftovers - Crockpot Hoppin' John

Every year, I have the tradition that everything left over (except for bread, salad and desert), after eating leftovers on January 2nd, goes into the soup pot. This year we had mac and cheese, collards, black-eyed peas, ham, hash brown casserole and 2 cans of chicken broth. Apparently, we ate most it of this year. We got 2 freezer bags for 2 meals in the freezer. I tasted it before we bagged it. It's good.


Here's another great idea for leftovers or for any time.


Crock Pot Hoppin John

This is just a basic recipe. You can add chopped celery or chopped red or green peppers or just about anything else you like.

1 lb left over ham or 1 lb smoky bacon
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
2 cans black eyed peas (15.5 oz size) or 2 can size servings of leftover peas.
3 cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cups (or cans) long grain rice (not instant rice). You can use a empty soup can to measure the rice.

Instructions:

Brown the bacon on the stove and crumble in large pieces. Drain most of the fat off add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is clear and tender.


Spray crock with cooking spray. Put the bacon mixture in the crockpot and add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Don't drain the black eyed peas if using canned peas. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours. Stir after an hour and and half and check liquid. If more is needed, add water 1/2 cup at a time. Often, it only takes 3 hours for this to be done, depending on how hot your crock pot is on low. My old crockpot took about 2 hours longer to cook food than my new one.

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Eat poor that day, eat rich the rest of the year.
Rice for riches and peas for peace.

- Southern saying on eating a dish of Hoppin' John on New Year's Day.

Hoppin' John is found in most states of the South, but it is mainly associated with the Carolinas. Gullah or Low Country cuisine reflects the cooking of the Carolinas, especially the Sea islands (a cluster of islands stretching along the coats of south Carolina and northern Georgia).

Black-eyed peas, also called cow peas, are thought to have been introduced to America by African slaves who worked the rice plantations. Hoppin' John is a rich bean dish made of black-eyed peas simmered with spicy sausages, ham hocks, or fat pork, rice, and tomato sauce.

This African-American dish is traditionally a high point of New Year's Day, when a shiny dime is often buried among the black-eyed peas before serving. whoever get the coin in his or her portion is assured good luck throughout the year. For maximum good luck in the new year, the first thing that should be eaten on New year's Day is Hoppin' John. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, many southern families toast each other with Champagne and a bowl of Hoppin' John. If it is served with collard greens you might, or might not, get rich during the coming year.

There are many variations to traditional Hoppin' John. Some cook the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately.

Most food historians generally agree that "Hopping John" is an American dish with African/French/Caribbean roots. There are many tales or legends that explain how Hoppin' John got its name:

    It was the custom for children to gather in the dining room as the dish was brought forth and hop around the table before sitting down to eat.

    A man named John came "a-hoppin" when his wife took the dish from the stove.

    An obscure South Carolina custom was inviting a guest to eat by saying, "Hop in, John"

    The dish goes back at least as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, it was hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a crippled black man who was know as Hoppin' John.

quote taken directly from "What Cooking America"