Happy New Year 2020

If you want good luck in the New Year, Southerners will tell you that you have to have a bowl of Hoppin' John on the first day of the year.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 celery stalks

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped cooked ham (about 1/2 pound)

1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed, undrained

3 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper (might use less - if too spicy for taste)

6 cups hot cooked white rice

Preparation

1. In a soup pot over medium-high heat, heat oil until hot; cook onion, celery, and garlic 5 minutes or until tender. Add ham, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, broth, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes.

Serve mixture over rice.