New Years Day Food Tradition Southern Style

In the south we have a tradition for New Years day. No I'm not talking about recovering from a hangover but a food tradition. We like to eat greens and black eyed peas. The greens are supposed to bring you wealth in the New Year and the peas are to bring you luck, (who doesn't need money and luck?) Well rather it works or not I don't want to take a chance so I do both. This year I am enjoying a twist on the old tradition and trying out these 2 recipes.  The Grits and Greens are my friend Debbie Wright's recipe. How can you go wrong with this combo? The black eyed peas are courtesy of Ms. Paula Deen. There is no butter in Paula's recipe this time but there is bacon! I hope you enjoy both of these fantastic recipes! Whats your New Years day tradition?

Grits and Greens

INGREDIENTS:

1	med onion chopped
6 or7	pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled
2 c	grits..not instand
1	large bag of frozen greens..your choice, i like collards or spinach
2	sticks butter
1 c	grated parmesan cheese
2 c	monterey jack cheese(reserve a little for topping)
	salt and pepper to taste
8 c	chicken broth--divided
2 c	half and half or heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

1)Preheat oven to 350

2)In a skillet cook your bacon..when done drain almost all the grease reserve some and saulte onion until the are carmelized.set aside bacon and crumble for topping.

3)In a large pot combine 1/2 and 1/2 and 6 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, stir in grits, bring back to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Stir often to keep from burning. Cook aprox 25-30 min. You want normal grits consistency. I use a wisk to get the lumps out.

4)while grits are cooking ... cook greens in remaining 2 cups of broth. Cook approx 10 min, or until tender. Drain and squeeze out all liquid.

5)Add butter, cheeses, onion and salt and pepper to grits. when butter is melted stir in greens.

6)Place mixture in a greased 13x9 dish. Top with crumbled bacon and a little reserved cheese.

7)Bake in oven until golden brown ..approx 15 min

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (16-ounce) package dried black-eyed peas, washed
• 1 (12-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups water

 DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon, crumble, and set aside to use as a topping for the peas. Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until tender. Add the peas, diced tomatoes and green chiles, salt, chili powder, pepper and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the peas are tender. Add additional water, if necessary. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon.