New Year's Black-Eyed Pea, Sausage & Kale Dip

Happy New Year!   

One year down and may we have many more to come!

How do you celebrate the New Year?  We enjoy pork and sauerkraut for dinner every year.  This year, I decided to also serve a New Year's dip with ingredients considered to be "lucky".  Black-eyed peas symbolize coins and kale symbolizes folded money, which means wealth for the New Year; pork symbolizes progress because pigs root forward; and tomatoes symbolize health.  My family loved this dip!  It was a lot of fun explaining to my daughter what each ingredient symbolized.  She wanted to find and eat as much of the kale as she could so she could save up for a pink car.  That led to a good laugh!

I wish you all a healthy and happy 2012 filled with joy, laughter and love.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (1/2 bag) black-eyed peas 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 1/4 c onion, minced 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 3/4 lb ground sausage 
• 6 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese 
• 1 1/2 c kale, chopped 
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste 

Directions:

Soak the beans in a large pot of water overnight, or for at least 8 hours.  Rinse thoroughly.  Boil the beans in a pot until they are tender, about 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in the sausage and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the kale and cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in the beans and tomatoes and cook for 1 minute longer.  Season with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour 1/3 of the bean mixture in the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish and top with 2 ounces of cheese.  Repeat two more times, ending with the cheese. 

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.  

Serve warm and enjoy!