Need Luck for the New Year?

Then the first meal you should eat is blacked eyed peas, rice, collard greens and cornbread. Peas are for prosperity, rice for riches and collard greens symbolize paper money.
And the cornbread? It's not for anything..it just tastes good.

They say if you eat 365 peas, it'll guarantee you good luck each day of the new year. If your lazy and don't feel like counting out peas, then eat about 3 pots.. that should cover your butt all year.

Hoppin John & Collard Greens

1 cup dried black-eyed peas.. sort and rinse
1 medium onion.. chopped
1 clove garlic.. minced
1 smoked ham hock..or bacon if your not a ham hock kinda person
2 bundles of fresh collard greens..wash and chopped
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 14-ounce can of chopped tomatoes..drained
5 cups of water..or as much as you need to cover
1 cup long-grain white rice..uncooked
Some Salt and pepper

Put the peas in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, reduce heat, simmer one hour. Drain.

If your using bacon instead of ham hock, fry the pieces first, drain on paper towels to remove the fat(why can't we drain our thighs on paper towels to remove the fat?).

Put all ingredients in slow cooker, except rice, not the rice, no rice yet!
Turn to high for five hours.
Now you can stir in the rice and cook one more hour.
If your using a ham hock.. remove the meat from bone and put meat only in pot.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot with corn bread...cause it tastes good.

Wishing you prosperity, riches, paper money... and good cornbread for 2009.