Down-Home Black-Eyed Peas

I can't stress enough how much my family and I enjoyed this recipe! Instead of water, I added chicken broth and instead of ham hocks, I used sausage. Two years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a bag of frozen black-eyed peas and suggested to put okra in it. I decided to fix them for Thanksgiving. I went online to find a recipe and came across this one. So glad I did! Oh my goodness.....the aroma! I was ready to eat the whole pot myself...lol! It ended up being a holiday favorite! I plan to make it again this Thanksgiving. Makes a great side dish or even as a meal with hot water cornbread! My family and I love it!

This was awesome-- so delicious and perfect for New Year's Day. I did read the comments and added 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/4 tsp of powdered garlic, 1/4 tsp of dry mustard. I used ham steaks cut up instead of a ham hock, and cut the salt in half. I also used two cans of blackeyed peas instead of dry. I recommend the frozen okra-- great touch. I put it all in the crock pot for 4 hours on high. It came out perfect.

This is what I did: I used one of those frozen bags of season blend with onions, peppers, and celery because they're so easy and that's what I had on hand. Then I used bacon instead of hamhocks because I had bacon on hand. I also used a box of chicken stock and some water with chicken bouillon instead of just plain water for extra flavor. And then towards the end I added a tablespoon of butter for a savory flavor. I also omitted the okra because that's not what I had on hand. However note that if you use okra it will thicken the mixture up a lot as okra is a natural thickening agent.