RECIPE REVIEW - slow cooker spicey black eyed peas

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my crockpot?  It's a great creation.  Texas summers are torture and the added heat from the oven is unbearable.  So, I use my crockpot almost every day.  Yesterday, I put my fresh blackeyed peas in the crockpot around 9:30am and baked my cornbread at the same time so that my kitchen was not so hot in the afternoon.  Worked out great.  The peas had the best flavor I have ever tasted.  My senior daughter loved them.  They had just the right amount of burn without being TOO spicy.  If you like blackeyed peas...you must try this recipe.  I bet the liquid ingredients would be great with pinto beans as well.  I didn't have any ham, so instead I used mesquite smoked sausage, skinless.  It really turned out great.  We had jalepeno, cheese cornbread with it.  The recipe does not call for cheese, so just add about a cup or as much as you would like for whatever cheesyness you are looking for.

here are the recipes for the cornbread found on pinterest and here: http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/12/jalapeno-cornbread.html and the peas found on Allrecipes.com and here   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-spicy-black-eyed-peas/detail.aspx :

Jalapeno Cornbread

Butter milk cornbread with the spicy hit of jalapenos!

Servings: makes 4-12 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk (or milk) - I used almond milk but I have also made it using regular milk and adding vinegar to make it buttermilk
• 1/4 cup oil, butter or bacon grease
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar - I used splenda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
• cheese

Directions

1. Mix the buttermilk, oil and eggs.
2. Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in to the wet and then mix in the jalapeno peppers.
4. Pour the Mixture into a grease 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 375F oven until a toothpick pushed in the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.

Slow Cooker Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

 Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
• 8 ounces diced ham (didn't have any, so used mesquite smoked sausage)
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Pour the water into a slow cooker, add the bouillon cube, and stir to dissolve. Combine the black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, ham, bacon, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper; stir to blend. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours until the beans are tender.