A Bit of Luck

Resolutions, hope and looking back on the previous year are yearly traditions that go hand in hand with the start of a New Year.  But what about a bit of luck?  There are many traditional dishes made at the start of a New Year,  dishes that are eaten to promote luck and good fortune for the year ahead.  

Purple Cabbage (my moms is amazing with caraway seed apples and a touch of brown sugar), Black Eyed Peas, and Ham are just a few of my New Years day must haves!

This year I did a new spin on our traditional Black Eyed Peas using a very surprisingly healthy Paula Dean Recipe (2 Tablespoons of butter, and no bacon, so not like Ms Dean).

 I made a tradition Hoppin' John.  A traditional southern dish consisting of bacon, rice black eyed peas and onions.  Usually Seasoned with Salt.  Traditionally this dish was served on New Years Day and was thought to bring about a prosperous year full of luck.  So shall we dive into this recipe?
I think we shall!

Paula's recipe was super easy with subtle flavor.  But don't skip out on the parsley (that adds a great flavor punch)!  Click here to get the complete recipe.  The only thing I did differently was sub in celery for the red pepper and cut the butter down by a 1/2 tablespoon!

The end result was a huge crowd pleaser, I even got Mark to eat black eyed peas  (and he is not a bean eater)!  I can for sure see myself making this dish again.  This simple Hoppin' John would make an excellent side dish to grilled meat or possibly even tofu!  Light, flavorful and easy just the kind of recipe I like!  Lets hope this dish brings my family a prosperous year full of luck!
Do you eat something special on New Years Day?  Any other foods that are thought to bring you luck in the New Year?  I would love to hear about them!

And last but not least, just a few pictures from our New Years Celebration!

The Whole Gang!

  Beautiful Ladies!                                      

 Not ready...

Still not ready...

There we go!  Thats a good one!
Happy Wednesday Everyone!