Hopping John's Chowder

This is a first here. A recipe. From the gal who really dislikes the kitchen. Here is a little confession. I kind of have been finding myself enjoying cooking a little more lately. When people hear me say I do not like to cook they assume I don't cook, or am not a good cook. Thanks to a recipe book full of my Momma and others recipes, I can cook pretty decently. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. And, I cook on a regular basis. Not in big doses, but with something like this recipe, that I can cook one day and it feeds us for 4 days. That's my style of cooking. Thank goodness for a family who eats leftovers.

This recipe was passed onto us from a co-worker of Ricky's. She had made it and brought it to share with everyone at the school and he loved it. He brought me the recipe. I looked it over and thought "oh different and I love different."  actually I thought: "Disgusting. I don't eat hardly any of these ingredients, much less together."

You have now learned 2 things about me, that you may or may not have known. I dislike cooking and am a terribly picky eater. Not my better traits. Not things I like about myself.

With that being said, I bit the bullet and made the hubs this dish because he liked it so much. Guess what? WE ALL LOVED IT! It has gone into my permanent cookbook, where very few dishes get added. This will be a family staple from now on. It is perfect for this cold weather we have been having too. It is on the spicy side, but if you don't like that, you could easily modify the recipe for a milder taste.

Hopping John's Chowder - (JUST GO MAKE IT TODAY!)
Makes approx. 15 servings

Ingredients-
4 cans black eyed peas
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (can substitute diced tomatoes plain if you want it milder)
1 can (14 oz.) beef broth
1 pound smoked sausage ( I used the cajun flavored, first time I have ever liked the stuff)
1 cup chopped onion ( I did about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup chopped green pepper ( I omitted this one, just don't like them and couldn't do it)
Salt, Pepper and garlic to taste ( I used a garlic & Herb mix that we like)
1 family size package of boil-in rice bag

Recipe Method:
Combine all ingredients (do not drain the cans) except rice bag into a crock pot. Add 1 cup of water and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 2 and a half to 3 hours. Once done, cut bag of rice and pour into slow cooker for the last 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

My method: 
I combined my ingredients on the stove top in a large soup pot (except the rice). I let it simmer for around 45 minutes and then added the pour in rice and continued to simmer until rice was tender (about 20 minutes).

Can serve with crackers, or as my kids liked - topped with cheese and fritos.

This recipe is very filling and fed us 4 meals and I had it for lunch 2 days. If you are picky and think this sounds gross, just go make it for your husband and taste it yourself. I dislike smoked sausage, onions and really only like peas from the garden. Yet, I thought this recipe was so good! Hope you enjoy!