Black Eyed Peas

I know this comes a little late, but rumor (or legend or perhaps superstition) has it that eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day will bring you good luck all year. Additionally, it's a great way to use the left over ham from Christmas dinner. It's healthy, cheap, delicious and freezes well.

In a large stock pot, saute

1 large diced onion
1 diced green bell pepper
1 or 2 diced anaheim pepper
1 or 2 cups diced ham
a few cloves of minced garlic (it goes without saying that any form of garlic may be used here)

(You can omit the peppers and ham to save on cost and it will still taste pretty good)

Meanwhile, sort and rinse a lb of black eyed peas.

Once mixture is browned, add one giant can of crushed tomatoes (if whole or diced tomatoes are cheaper, "crush" yourself in blender) rinsed black eyed peas and enough water to fill to roughly 6 inches deep. Bring to boil. Stir in about a tsp of ham base (this can also be omitted due to budget constraints but it definitely improves the flavor). Turn to low and simmer until peas are done (1-2 hours; I really can't remember!)

Curried Lentil Soup

I found this recipe in Good Housekeeping Dec 2008 as an idea for a gift. It's cheap, healthy, super easy, uses your food storage AND you can layer all the ingredients in a jar for holiday distribution should you desire. My family didn't love it but they definitely liked it (2 yr old had seconds). As far as cooking with lentils goes, this is an EXCELLENT recipe.

1 lb lentils (recipe calls for half and half red and green; any lentil works and I successfully used half split peas)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp curry powder
3 Tbsp minced dried onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c dried apples cut into 1/2 in. chunks
1 Tbsp dried parsley

Add all ingredients to 7 c water in a 3 qt pot and bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Makes 8 cups.