Black-Eyed Peas Saute with Rice

This was our dinner tonight- an experiment in "What's in the Pantry?" It turned out delicious! This recipe is for the black-eyed pea saute, and you can put it over any grain you like- white, brown, or wild rice, quinoa, barley. etc. Here I had it over white rice mixed with red quinoa. Adding quinoa is a great way to use up white rice if you're switching from refined to whole grains. It cooks at the same liquid-to-grain ratio and for the same amount of time. I like red quinoa because it is a little less bitter than white. You can do this gradual phase out with white and wheat flour when you bake. Start with half and half, then increase the ratio of wheat to white and eventually you're eating 100% whole wheat! It also helps get your palate used to the flavor of quinoa and other whole grains to mix it, a little at first, then more and more until you're just eating whole grains. Get on the health train, people!


Here's the recipe...

1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas (or a can of them, but dried is cheaper and healthier and tastier!)
3 Cups chicken or vegetable broth
2-3 cups water
1/2 to 1 tbs salt (you can add more but you can't take it out!)

1/2 cup white rice and 1/2 cup red quinoa
2 cups water

1/2-1 oz bacon, diced (optional- if you don't use bacon you might want some liquid smoke or smoked paprika for flavor)

1 tbs butter (optional- if you want you can saute the veggies in the bacon grease, or just use a dab of olive oil or some cooking spray. even a thin layer of water works well as long as you don't let it get too dry)

1/2 med onion, any color
1 bell pepper, any color
2-3 stalks of celery

Dash of hot sauce (optional. You can also add a dash of cruches red pepper flakes or chili powder if you don't have hot sauce)

1. Start cooking the rice and the black eyed peas at the same time. If you use brown rice, start it first, it takes about 45 minutes.

• Peas: add peas, salt, broth, and water to a medium saucepan and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes. after about 20, add 1/2 the bacon to the pot to flavor the beans. The peas are done when you can easily mash one with a fork and it is soft and tender
• Rice: cook according to package directions. White rice and quinoa are 2 parts liquid to 1 part grain. You can use broth here as well instead of water, but the saute mix is very flavorful and doesn't need any help from the rice.

2. While the rice and peas are cooking, dice your veggies. Heat a skillet on med high and melt the butter in the pan. Add the other half of the bacon and cook for about a minute. Reduce heat to medium and add veggies. Saute them until they are tender but still have a nice crisp texture. You don't want soggy veggies! Remove from heat.

3.  Once the peas are done, drain them, reserving some of the liquid, and add them to the skillet. Saute over medium heat for a couple minutes, adding bean liquid as needed to keep the mixture from sticking to the pan (about a tbs or two), until heated through and well combined. Add a dash of hot sauce at the end for a little kick.

4.  Serve over warm rice. It would also be good on its own! Enjoy!