I've been trying to make a twist on the hoppin' johns. No particular reason, just that I don't make the version I have very well.. is always too dry and not very tastey.

Typically I cook the rice in chicken broth, then add it to a can of black eyed peas and ham stock and simmer till liquid is gone.

So on one of the cooking shows (Paula Dean) she made something I thought looked yum.. after finding the recipe online, it doesn't have the rice.. and it's deep fryed, so I'm trying to tweak it, and maybe make something totally different using her ideas.

Basically she makes a sauce for it.. cranberry sauce with 1tbsp of maple syrup and 1tsp of garlic powder.

Then she mashes up the peas with onion, egg whites, cornstarch and shredded ham.. deep fries them into 'fritters', serves with the sauce.

Anyone have an awesome hoppin johns recipe?? Don't want to fry it, want to incorporate rice, peas, and canned chunk ham...lots of flavor, and soupy if possible

Here's one, substitute ham for the kielbasa, and voila!

Hoppin’ John Soup

Serves 6

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound kielbasa, chopped

2 cans black-eyed peas, drained

1 can navy beans, drained

1 cup brown rice, cooked

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cans chicken broth

In a soup pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook till translucent. Add kielbasa, peas and beans, rice, broth and seasoning. Stir well to blend and heat. Mash beans slightly to help thicken soup (use the back of your spoon or a potato masher). Serve when hot.

Per Serving: 499 Calories; 14g Fat (25.7% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 65g Carbohydrate; 15g Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 676mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Grain (Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.

Actually, I love Kielbasa, so that sounds pretty darn good.. minus navy beans. I just wanted to use ham because I have 4 cans to get rid of lol.

Thanks!

I thought it sounded good, and just LOOK at all the protein and fiber! Of course, those are NORMO portions, but even so, this recipe puts up some pretty impressive numbers, I'm going to try it for sure.

Well I just made a concoction based on the recipe you posted.

Ended up tasting awesome, DH ate the whole pot (after I took my 1cup).

Cooked 3 cut-up raw mild italian sausages in olive oil with a diced onion. Meanwhile cooked 1 instant rice in a pot of boiling chicken broth. Once sausage was well cooked on the outside, I added the rice and black-eyed peas. Then I poured about 2 cups of chicken broth into it (from the rice). Added 2 dashes of Thyme, and 2 dashes of Cayenne Pepper. Let it cook, covered for 15 minutes.. then let it cook uncovered until all the liquid evaporated (approx another 15m).

It was really moist and full of flavor!!