Ringing in the New Year with the Crock Pot - Jose Saltando

For the slide into the year of 2011 I decided I would cook the traditional Southern Hoppin' John's stew that is eaten here to give good luck.
I looked and looked for recipes, and found a great one called "Tijuana Hoppin' John's" a mixture of Southern style Black Eyed Peas and Mexican spicyness. YUM.
I got everything ready before the celebrating began and dumped it all into the Crock Pot at 2 a.m. so it could cook overnight and be ready in the morning - thus making the slide into 2011 even easier!!
Here's the recipe it's a combo of the "Tijuana Hoppin' John's" recipe I found online and my own additions.
*A disclaimer - I don't measure when I cook, unless I'm baking, so if you are one of those people who has to measure - you should probably move on...

"Jose saltando" or "Jumping Joe's" (not that Joe was doing much jumping on New Year's Day ;-)

1 bag dried Black Eyed Peas
1 can Ro Tel (canned tomatoes with spices and greeen chili peppers)
1 small can green chili peppers
1 bunch kale
4-5 carrots
1 white onion
~1 TBS chipolte powder
~1 TBS cumin
3 cloves garlic
Water - enough so that the food is coved.
*add whatever veggies you want/have in your fridge - I've heard the Kale means money in Southern cooking / New Years lore, I decided that the carrots when cut in circles also equal money...and added both. Corn might be good, too.

Prepare Black Eyed Peas according to bag - either soaking overnight, or quick soaking - boiling in a pot of water for 2 minutes, removing from heat and sitting for 1 hour.

Pre-heat crock pot on high while cutting veggies.

Cut all the veggies up.

Add Black Eyed Peas, Ro-Tel, Chilis, veggies to the crock pot.

In a measuring cup add water, stir in cumin and chipotle, pour over contents. Repeat until all the stuff is covered. The kale probably will float, but it'll reduce spreading all the good vitamins and nutrients into the stew, and be much smaller once it has cooked.

Turn the crock pot down to low.

Go to bed. The smells will scare away all of the bad spirits from the previous year.

Wake up to the smell of delicious, spicy, hangover curing Black Eyed Peas.

Make some corn bread, drink some coffee and Gatorade while the corn bread is cooking.

Dish it up and enjoy!

I froze part of the left-overs and ate them throughout the week.

I don't have any pictures to post, we ate it all.