New Year's Treats...

...Now, I currently reside in the northeast, and here in Pennsylvania there's a traditional meal eaten for New Years: pork and sauerkraut.

Right.

Now, Tara doesn't really like sauerkraut - as in, "OMG EW." And for my part, it seems silly to partake in a "tradition" that doesn't belong to me, and that my wife won't participate in with me.

So, instead, we do what my family, and most of those I know who live in East Texas, do: black-eyed peas.

The following is an example of "WTF do we have in the kitchen? Well, let's see, some of this, and a couple of those, and..." When this happens, it's rarely "Meh." It's usually "Oh, wow, this is tasty," or "Burn that, away from other humans." This particular set was one of the ones that was more "Oh, wow, this is tasty."


Beginning with 3 cans of black-eyed peas, drain them partially - until the juice gets thick - and place them in a medium sauce pan. Add to this 1 package of dried onion soup mix, one of the larger - I will post ounces tomorrow evening, but the ones in the giant juice box - boxes of beef broth - I used Swanson's - and a drained can of mushrooms. Stir in a tablespoon of garlic powder and a teaspoon each of black pepper and onion powder.

Place this on medium heat. Leave it there until you're satisfied that it's done.

I will note that - since Tara had conveniently fried up some pork chops tonight, I also shredded into the beans 3 thin pork chops, shredding them fairly finely, but by hand.

After an hour and a half or so - lowering the heat to "Low" after about 35 minutes - they brought the Yummay.

Enjoy!