Black-eyed Pea Hummus

I have a thing for making different kinds of hummus at home. I've come to realize that you can make any kind of hummus you want. I saw a recipe for Black-eyed Pea Hummus and it sounded really great. Over the past few summers, I have been able to try fresh pink-eyed peas and purple-eyed peas and have acquired a new love for any color of eyed peas. They are delicious fresh and cooked and I knew this hummus would be delicious.

I found a few containers of fresh black-eyed peas and cooked them to make this hummus. I just served it with fresh cut up veggies and it was delightful. When I tried it I thought that it might be my new favorite hummus. Try it and see what you think.

Here is the recipe for Black-eyed Pea Hummus

Mini Key Lime Pies and a Great Summer Lunch Menu

A couple of months ago I was asked to cater a luncheon for the Department Head of one of the schools at UGA. When I started planning my menu, I decided what dessert I wanted to make first and then planned the rest of the menu around that. I saw these adorable Mini Key Lime Pies and I knew they would be the perfect summer treat and a great way to end any summer lunch.
The main dish was this delicious salad which I have made many times before and since this event. It is one of the best tasting salads and I love the cute presentation of each individual serving in mason jars.


I can't ever go wrong with the simple roasted shrimp that my family loves, so I added that to the menu as well.
The last thing I made was this wonderful Red Lentil dip that is served with pita chips. I remember when I first made it a couple years ago and it is seriously one of the best dips ever invented.
The luncheon was an overwhelming success and I got wonderful, positive feedback. It was so much fun to organize, put together and present this meal. I love making delicious food and sharing it with other people.

Here is the recipe for Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-eyed Peas from epicurious (I made it exactly as the recipes states this time) and here is my adaptation when I made it last time

Here is the basic recipe for the Roasted Shrimp, this time I added a little Greek Seasoning to the shrimp and roasted them at 450 degrees for 7 minutes

Here is the recipe for Garlicky Red Lentil Dal with my changes, originally from Cooking Light

Here is the recipe for Mini Key Lime Pies as seen on Plum Pie
* I doubled the recipe for the crust and made 8 mini pies
*I made a sweetened whipped cream topping, but not with rum- just vanilla and powdered sugar

Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas

So many things are going on in life right now. We have had a 24 hour stomach bug that is making it's way through our family. The third child had it this morning and had to be checked out of school. Fun times all around! Cross your fingers that it skips over the parents!

Anyway, I wanted to share this salad really quickly. This was something that I saw on epicurious and I thought it was so cute because they served it in little mason jars.
Greek salad is a serious favorite around here and I loved this take with black-eyed peas. I made a couple of changes to the recipe which are noted below.

This salad turned out really great. The first night I served it on top of romaine. There were enough leftovers that a few nights later I mixed in a can of tuna and a little more lemon juice and we were able to eat it again. Very good. I have to say that the peperoncini really made this delicious. They are definitely becoming a favorite of mine.

Recipe for Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas
* I reduced the amount of feta cheese
* I used black olives instead of kalamata
*I omitted the red onion
*I didn't mix the tomatoes into the salad because some people don't care for them. I placed them on top for those of us who do like them

Collard Green & Black-eyed Pea Soup

Finally, the weekend is in sight and there might be a moment of relaxation. I can't wait.

At New Years', I cooked up a huge amount of fresh Black-eyed Peas and used some in both these Southern Egg Rolls and this Good Luck Dip. I still had quite a bit of them left, so I froze them in a Ziploc bag and decided to give myself some time to find another way to use them.

Somehow, I came across this soup and it looked really inviting. My kids like collard greens and have told me that they are easier to chew than kale. Collard greens are something that I have learned to like too and so I decided to give this soup a try.

I didn't use the bacon because I didn't have any and don't really like cooking it. The soup did not lack flavor at all. It was delicious. It was one of those nights when my kids just gobbled it down and I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so happy. No bribery had to happen to get them to eat this dinner.

The leftovers have made for a couple of really great lunches for me this week. I love it when that happens.

Recipe for Collard Green & Black-eyed Pea Soup
* I just topped the soup with a little shredded cheese
* I omitted the bacon

Good Luck Dip

This is actually New Year's Good Luck Dip. I saw it on Ezra Pound Cake a day or two before New Year's and loved this twist on collard greens and beans.

I wasn't going to share it here since it has been a few weeks since New Years Day, but it was so delicious and I figured we could all use some good luck, probably more than just on the first day of the year. You can't really go wrong with dip and this one has some healthy stuff in it.

This dip starts out with a little bit of bacon. You cook a sweet onion, red bell pepper and then add the collard greens, and cook them down until they are nice and wilted. You might be thinking that collard greens can't fit into a dip. But they can. Make sure you finely chop the collard greens. To lighten this dip up a little, I used nonfat cream cheese and nonfat Greek yogurt. I was actually kinda surprised by how yummy this dip was. I also added some black-eyed peas since we had this dip the same day as the Southern Egg Rolls.

I used whole wheat pita chips as my main dipper, but I think it would taste great with veggie sticks too. Since it was sort of a New Year's party for our family, I splurged and bought some Frito dips, so they could use those to dip into this dip.

This was a great recipe and we loved how it turned out.

Recipe for Good Luck Dip
* I used non-fat cream cheese
* I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
* I added some cooked black-eyed peas

Southern Egg Rolls

I know I've said this before, but you need to know that I am not a true Southerner. Therefore, I cannot be held accountable for things that I say or make that have the word "Southern" in front of them.
I did find this recipe on a blog that is written by a real Southerner, so, well, so, that is that.

I saw this recipe a couple of days before New Year's and loved this twist on the traditional black eyed peas and collard greens, that people eat around here on New Year's to bring good luck for the coming year.

I love anything that isn't traditional and adds a little flair to the ordinary, so I decided to make these on New Year's Day.
They are so good that I think you should make them any day.

I decided to bake these egg rolls because I have baked egg rolls before and you can still get a nice crunchy shell, without all the extra fat. Plus, being a true non-Southerner, I don't fry things.

I am here to tell you that these little guys taste great baked. And with a few changes.
But, if you feel like frying them, I'm sure they taste really yummy that way too.
They also tasted great the next day, cold, straight out of the refrigerator.


Recipe for Southern Egg Rolls
* I used less bacon than called for
* I added a large red bell pepper to the onion and cooked them together
* I used a combination of monterey jack & mozzarella cheese and used 1 1/2 cups instead of 2 cups


* this recipe calls for frying the egg rolls, but I have made egg rolls in the past and decided to bake them instead.
preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Prepare the egg rolls as you would for frying, but lay them on the prepared baking sheet, folded side down.
Spray the tops with cooking spray.
Bake for about 18 minutes or until the outside is golden brown and crispy.

Cowboy Cavier in Cumin-Chili Spiced WonTon Cups

I remember a few years ago tasting Cowboy Cavier for the first time. I was pregnant and I couldn't get enough of it. I got the recipe, but misplaced it somewhere and kinda forgot about it, until the other day when I was fixing an appetizer for a holiday get-together. I wanted to make a dip, but something a little more hearty and healthy. I remembered Cowboy Cavier and recreated it in a very delicious way. I wanted something cute to serve it in and decided to use some WonTon Cups. I came up with this idea during the summer and used them for 2 Bean WonTon Cups and also as a cup when I made fresh peach ice cream, but used a sweet Cinnamon-Sugar WonTon Cup. I decided these Cumin-Chili spiced WonTon cups would be the perfect little way to serve this delicious dip. I just made a quick spice mix of cumin, chili powder and garlic powder and used that to spice up the wontons. If you have a party and need an appetizer, this one will disappear!

Cowboy Cavier by Mary Ann

1 15-oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels

2 Tbls red wine vinegar

1 tsp canola oil

juice of 1 lime

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine black-eyed peas, black beans, and bell pepper. Run corn kernels under hot water and drain. Repeat and let sit for a few minutes. Add vinegar, oil, lime juice, minced garlic, cilantro, and green onions to bean mixture. Stir to combine. Mix in corn and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in Cumin-Chili Spiced WonTon Cups or with tortilla chips.

Cumin-Chili Spiced WonTon Cups by Mary Ann

24 wonton wrappers

cooking spray

equal amounts of ground cumin and garlic powder (1-2 tsps)

1/4-1/2 tsp chili powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Combine spices in a small bowl and mix with fingers. Spray a muffin tin generously with cooking spray. Lay out 12 wonton wrapper, each one over a muffin cavity. Sprinkle with spice mixture, using fingers to spread evenly over top of wonton. Press each wonton wrapper down into the muffin cavity. Bake in the oven, until tips are brown and entire wonton is crisp and cooked, about 5-7 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool. Fill with Cowboy Cavier, just prior to serving.

Coming Tomorrow- My pick for Craving Ellie- Curried Butternut Squash Soup and Barefoot Bloggers- Savory Palmiers (why not some sweet ones too?)

Smoky Black-eyed Pea and Rice Cakes with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread

A few weeks ago, I saw this recipe in the Local Paper. It was taken from the Associated Press and the photo that went along with it was so, can I say cute? Anyway, I knew I wanted to make it and try to recreate the photo. Not so great on recreating the photo, but the taste was wonderful. The recipe was only for the Black-eyed Pea and Rice cakes, but it showed it with cornbread and collard greens. I used spinach, because I had some in the fridge and sauteed it the way I usually do. I tried a new cornbread recipe, which was pretty good, but next time I would probably add a pinch of salt and a tsp of sugar. With my husband being from the South and having lived there for almost all of our married life, I really thought this was an interesting take on Black-eyed Peas, Cornbread and Collards. It was easy and really yummy. The cakes taste best warm, so make sure to have the cornbread and spinach ready to go when they cakes are done. Happy Eating!

SMOKY BLACK-EYED PEAS AND RICE CAKES with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread

1 teaspoon plus 3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
4 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped (1 cup)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked white or brown rice
2 large eggs
1/4 cup roasted garlic-flavored tomato paste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

In a small skillet over medium, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the onion and saute until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the black-eyed peas, Canadian bacon, parsley, hot sauce, salt, pepper and rice. Transfer half of this mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed, no more than 10 seconds.Return the chopped mixture to the bowl and mix thoroughly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and tomato paste, then add to the rice and bean mixture. Mix well. Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Form the rice and bean mixture into 12 cakes and press both sides of each into the breadcrumbs to coat. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining oil. Add six of the cakes and cook until crisp and browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside and cover with foil to keep warm. Wipe out the skillet, heat the remaining oil and cook the remaining cakes

Mama's Corn Bread- Curtis Aikens

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 Tbls canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except oil and mix well. On the stove top, heat the oil in a large skillet until hot but not boiling. Pour the hot oil into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 35 to 50 minutes. Start checking for doneness after 35 minutes; it should be golden brown when done. To serve with cake on top, cut into 1/2-inch tall square slightly larger than size of cake.

Sauteed Spinach by Mary Ann

12 oz baby spinach

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

dash of fresh lemon juice

cooking spray or canola oil

heat oil in an electric skillet or spray with cooking spray. Add spinach and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Saute until spinach is wilted and turn off or remove from heat. To serve on top of Black-eyed Pea Cake, spoon spinach into a Tablespoon measuring spoon and carefully arrange on top of cake.