Spicy Crockpot Black Eyed Peas

I was going to keep with the whole seasonal theme of fall foods, but am sitting here thoroughly enjoying my  lunch of leftovers...and decided I would post this recipe today instead.  I am a huge fan of www.skinnytaste.com  and have been cooking up many of her posted recipes for the past few months.  She always includes nutritional info AND points!  So it makes it easy to choose things that fit into my plan.  I have never had a miss with any of her recipes...and I just love her pictures.  In fact, they are what inspired me to start a food blog of my own.  I spotted this recipe for black eyed peas a few weeks ago, and knew it was one I wanted to try.  Very reminiscent of New Orleans style red beans and rice.  The original recipe called for cooking the black eyed peas in the crockpot.  I have never used a crockpot to cook beans before, so I was anxious to give it a try and I have never had, let alone made, black eyed peas.  I was not disappointed!  A definite home run hit!

Almost done.  After removing the bay leaf and ham hocks and adding the spices and other ingredients. 

Spicy Crockpot Black Eyed Peas adapted from Skinnytaste

1 or 2 smoked ham hocks, for flavor ( I used two)

1 pound dried black eyed peas, rinsed and soaked overnight

2 bay leaves

cooking spray

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 10 oz. can of rotel original diced tomatoes and green chilies

1 pkg of turkey smoked sausage, diced

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1   1/2 tsp. ground cumin

salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Soak the beans in about 6 cups of water overnight.  The next morning, drain the beans and put into a crockpot with 4 cups of fresh water, the ham hocks and the bay leaves.  Cook on high for about 4 hours or until beans are tender.  Remove ham hocks and bay leaves and discard.  In a large nonstick frying pan coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, red pepper, and garlic until soft.  ( approximately 5 minutes )   Add the sauteed vegetables to the crockpot.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and stir.  Cover crockpot and let it come to a boil, reduce the heat to low.  Simmer for another 30 to 45 min to combine flavors.  

Serve over brown rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. 

Outstanding!  For the leftovers, I loosened the beans with some chicken stock to serve as a soup.  I was happy with how the beans turned out using the crockpot and I was happy with the black eyed peas.  Their little black dot gives them character, I think!  ( Each one cup serving is approx. 5 points, I approximated the points on this dish because I could not find out whether cooking the ham hocks and then discarding them added any point value to the dish)

* this is an older recipe...if you would like new pp values for it, please email me at the address found in the contact tab!  thanks!  to see more updated recipes, please click on the "home" tab.