Slow Cooker Lucky Black Eyed Peas and Ham

Ingredients

• 1 medium Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 large Garlic Cloves, peeled and diced
• 1 cup Carrot ‘Coins’; peeled and cut into slices
• 1 Serrano Chile, destemmed, seeds removed and diced
• 2 cups Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale or Collard Greens (about 6 large leaves), sliced across the leaf into thin ribbons
• ½ cup Long Grain Rice, uncooked
• 2 15-ounce cans Black Eyed Peas, drained
• 1 cup chopped Ham*
• 2 Ham Hocks or 1 Ham Bone
• 2 1/c cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock/Broth
• ¼ teaspoon Cumin, ground
• ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions

1. Spray a 6-7 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray, and layer the onion, garlic, carrots, serrano chile and kale in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the uncooked rice on top of the vegetables. Layer the black-eyed peas, ham and the ham hocks or bone on top. Evenly pour 1 ½ cups of the chicken stock on the mixture and sprinkle on the cumin and red pepper flakes. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set it on LOW for 6 hours. Stir gently after a few hours to ensure the broth is wetting the upper layer of the mixture.
2. At 4 hours, evenly pour in the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock and stir again. Replace the lid and check for doneness at 5 ½ hours. The mixture is done when the rice is soft (between 5 ½ and 6 hours).

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Yield: 7-8 cups