Black Eye Pea Dip

New Year’s Day, for those of us from the South, always meant eating pork, black eyed peas and greens. Even though my boyfriend grew up in Texas, his family is from New England and there are several traditions that we don’t share. When we found out they were coming over on the 1st, I knew I would have to find a way to get my lucky food in for the year and also make it palatable for them. We decided on a pork tenderloin, a salad instead of traditional collard greens, roasted carrots and Parker House Rolls with honey butter, but I still needed my black eyed peas for good luck. I wanted something a little different, so when I stumbled across Zannie’s Black Eye Pea Dip on the Pioneer Woman’s blog, I figured I would give it a whirl. I am so glad I did, because I am Really Into this Black Eye Pea Dip and it would be great any time of the year!

I decided to double the recipe and I gathered my ingredients:

I wanted both cans of beans to have jalapenos in them, but there was only one left so I added some sliced jalapenos that I had in the refrigerator. I like stuff spicy! I poured the beans into my oven safe dish (I love Le Creuset, hint hint) and mashed them like Ree told me too. Mine looked like this:

Then I added everything else in. I didn’t have any jarred salsa, so I used some fresh stuff I had in the fridge.

I also have an aversion to pre-grated cheese, so I bought a block and shredded it myself. I just think it tastes better, but there will be no judgement from me if you need that time saver – I totally understand!

Yummmmmm. I love sharp cheddar cheese. I mixed it all up and got it ready for the oven.

I left it like this until our guests let us know they were on their way, and then I popped it into a preheated oven for thirty minutes. It was warm, bubbly and delicious when everyone came over and I served it with tortilla chips. And it was gone quickly. And I wish I had some for leftovers.