New Year's Day Dinner Menu

According to Southern tradition eating greens, cornbread, blackeyed peas and ham on New Year's Day will bring you fortune in the year to come.

So here is the meaning behind these foods
and my take on New Year's Day Dinner.

Greens-represent dollar bills ensuring wealth and luck.

Cornbread-symbolizes gold.
Blackeyed peas-to ensure that your New Year
will be filled with luck, fortune, and romance.
Ham or pork-represents luck.
Hoppin' John-increases your chance of prosperity. This is traditionally a meal made with blackeyed peas, rice, onion, peppers and ham.

Arugula & Spinach salad with Honey Dijon vinaigrette
Fresh arugula
Fresh spinach
Crumbled blue cheese
Chopped sweet onion

Vinaigrette
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp honey
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
6 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Layer salad in order above and toss with dressing before serving.

Linda's Cornbread (Thanks Linda!)
2 small boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can of mexicorn
3/4 C sour cream
1/2 C milk
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 C vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with butter. Store in fridge.

My Modern Hoppin' John
1 small package of mahatma yellow rice
(Let's keep the gold color theme going for even more luck!)
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1-15 oz blackeyed peas, drained and rinsed
1-4 oz can green chilis, diced
1 tsp Tony's Creole Seasoning
Dash hot sauce
Ham, prepared and diced (optional, if you are a non-meat eater like me)
Place 1 and 2/3 C water in rice cooker and add olive oil, rice, beans, chilis, Tony's and hot sauce. Turn on rice cooker. Top with optional ham.

Now be sure to eat your Hoppin' John leftovers the next day when they become a Skippin' Jenny. Since it is said to demonstrate one's frugality and will bring an even better chance of New Year prosperity!

Comments

Crocktober-Simple Veggie Chili

It's October, cooler weather should be on it's way, but it's still over 80 degrees. But that is not going to stop me from pulling out the crockpot and making chili. What makes it even better is that it is only 4 ingredients. 1 pkg veggie crumbles (like the kind by morningstar farms) 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can kidney beans 1 pkt chili seasoning Mix all in crockpot and cook on high for two hours and 1 hour on low. Serve with your fave chili toppings.

A simple kind of Pizza

Hot gooey cheese, burning the roof of your mouth sauce, and crunchy, crusty bread. Yum! It started with a pizza in fifth grade home economics. The recipe was French Bread Pizza, the ingredients were simple, bread, sauce, cheese, and meat. But that was all it took, my culinary spark was lit. I went home and wanted to give my school recipe a try. The actual ingredients were French bread probably from the local grocery store's bakery. The remaining ingredients were less than wholesome, a can of salty tomato sauce, a block of mozzarella you had to shred yourself, and greasy pre-sliced pepperoni you simply had to taste. Hopefully you managed to save enough for the pizza. And Voila, I felt just like a chef! Did it matter that the only chef I knew was Chef Boyardee? Of course not, because I could make my own food. And even got to use the oven much to my mother's disapproval (for fear I would burn the house down). I didn't care because even at that moment I was a better c

Doritos Pumpkin cheese ball

1 Block cream cheese ½ C salsa (pace salsa works best) 2-3 C crushed nacho doritos Bell pepper stem Small round bowl Press and seal wrap Non-stick spray Mix with an electric mixer the cream cheese and salsa. I mix it well and until it is quite creamy/fluffy. Place a piece of press and seal over a small bowl and spray with nonstick spray. Put in cream cheese and salsa mixture and wrap up. Let chill overnight or at least 2 hours. When ready to serve unwrap ball and roll in crushed doritos and top with a bell pepper stem. I like to serve it with blue tortilla chips for Halloween, this is also great for Thanksgiving.

Dinner, Wine, & My Spare Time

Search This Blog