Black Eyed Peas- N- Pork  
 

Our gang here at TaraCooks.com would like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year.  May God bless your lives with health, happiness, and His spirit today and throughout 2009! 

Here’s how to get all the New Year’s traditions in one main dish.  It contains those “lucky” black eyed peas.  Pork and cabbage go in the mix that so many folks here in the south serve with the peas.  This recipe is a complete experiment for me, and one I created after consulting with my life long friend Amanda.   

Brown 1 pound ground pork in large iron skillet over medium heat. (There was practically NO grease that cooked out of the pork. I was surprised). 

Add:

• 1 chopped green pepper
• 1 chopped medium sweet onion
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped cabbage (I used slaw mix, without the dressing) 

Cook chopped veggies with ground pork until onions are translucent. 

Then add:

• ½ cup Minute Rice
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can drained black eyed peas
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

Simmer until rice is done and liquid chicken broth is absorbed. 

Serve in large cabbage leaves. 

Although I served this dish in the cabbage leaves, you could simply serve from the iron skillet for simplicity’s sake.  Amanda made a similar dish with potatoes and carrots in place of the slaw mix and rice.  She was able to roll spoonfuls of her mix into cabbage leaves, secure with a toothpick, and bake with some canned tomatoes as topping.  We both could imagine some country ham pieces accenting this dish too!  Any how, I had fun creating a new dish, and consulting with an old friend.  I was also pleased with the taste.  And I’m no longer a virgin ground pork chef!