Hoppin John Black Eyed Peas

Black Eyed Peas are a symbol of good luck heading into a new year. To help you have an amazing 2015, we, here at World Seasonings wanted to share this awesome recipe with you and your lucky life!

INGREDIENTS:

5 Teaspoons Smokin' Chipotle Seasoning Blend
2 Small, smoked ham hocks
1 Pounds Black Eyed Peas (1 large bag)
2 Medium Yellow Onions, 1 halved, 1 diced small
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 Bay leaf
1 Red bell pepper, diced
½ Green bell pepper, diced
3 Stalks of celery, diced small
1 Jalapeño, seeded and diced 
4 Green onions, diced
2 Cups Brown rice (or white rice),  uncooked
8 Cups Water (6 for cooking peas, 2 for cooking rice)

DIRECTIONS:

This is everything that you need except the cooked rice. Make sure you inspect and sort the peas first so you only have peas, no pebbles! Sometimes little pebbles get bagged with the peas, be warned!

Grab a large dutch oven or cooking pot that will hold the ham hocks, peas and 6 cups of water. Add the peas, ham hocks, bay leaf, 1 onion (halved), and 1 tablespoon of Smokin' Chipotle Seasoning.

Add 6 cups of water or so. If you happen to have any pork stock that you can use instead of the water, do it, it will add even more flavor to the peas. I didn't have any stock, so water it was.

Make sure you have enough water to cover all the peas. Bring the pot to a boil then cover and let simmer for about 1-1.5 hours. Make sure you don't over cook the peas. Nobody likes mushy peas!

While the peas are cooking, in a separate pot, cook the rice according to the package. I like to season the water by adding 1 teaspoon of the Chipotle blend, but that is up to you!

I like to cut the other ingredients to be the same size as the peas. It just makes every bite better.

• Celery - Trim the ends off then cut in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half lengthwise.
• Bell Peppers - Like the celery, do the same with the bell peppers but make sure to remove the seeds. I only used 1/2 of the green bell pepper but you can use it all if you'd like.
• Jalapeño - If you like a little more spice then don't remove the seeds. Otherwise, remove the seeds and dice the jalapeño as pictured above.

Dice the 2nd onion as pictured above.

The green onion is the final garnish for this dish. Dice the green onion completely, including the green stem.

In a large sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place over medium high heat. Add the bell peppers, the jalapeno, the 2nd onion, and the last 2 teaspoons of Smokin' Chipotle. Cook until soft.

After cooking the peas for about 1.5 hours, remove the ham and strain the peas, saving the broth. Discard the onion halves and the bay leaf. After the ham has cooled to touch, remove the meat.

Mix the peas, the sautéed veggies and the ham together back in the cooking pot. Add 2 cups of the reserved cooking broth and bring back to a boil, then turn off the heat and get ready to eat.

Serve a scoop of rice with a big scoop of the cooked peas. Garnish with some green onions and a piece of Chipotle Cornbread.