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Macaroni Recipe: Hoppin' John

Eating this Southern dish on New Year's Day is said to bring a prosperous year.

By Kyrie Collins, Highlands Ranch-Parker-Castle Rock Publisher December 30, 2022


Eating black-eyed peas and keeping a penny in you pocket on New Year's Day are supposed to bring a prosperous year. 
It so happens that the Southern dish Hoppin' John is the perfect dish for watching College Football Bowl Games too! 
Leave three black-eyed peas in your bowl to bring about luck, fortune, and romance. Eat it with cornbread (the color of gold) and/or collard greens (the color of paper money) to further increase your abundance.

Hoppin' John
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup ham, diced
  • 2 cans black-eyed peas, slightly drained
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 cups hot cooked brown rice
  • salt to taste
In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in a small amount of oil (use leftover bacon grease to be truly Southern). 
Add ham, black-eyed peas, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 10 minutes. 
Stir in rice and salt and cook till heated through. 
Serve immediately.