Spicy Black-Eyed Peas and Stewed Tomatoes

Calling all spicy food lovers… this side dish might look a little weird to you, but it tastes amazing! It’s also really easy to make AND cheap. I’m not a huge bean-lover and this definitely doesn’t fit into a trendy food category, but I could eat this every day it’s so yummy. The primary ingredients here are actually 3 canned goods:

I like the Glory brand of Black-Eyed Peas because they are already seasoned. You could buy dry peas and do it yourself but it requires more advance thinking and doing than I care to devote to peas when these canned ones are delish on their own. Stewed tomatoes can be found anywhere or you could sub for diced tomatoes. Rotel… oh yeah, baby. The king of canned tomatoes. I bought the hot version with habaneros and it makes this dish REALLY spicy. I have a high tolerance for spicy so I loved it, but if you don’t, Rotel has medium and mild versions that are much more tame. The mild version is made with green chiles and isn’t even spicy.

I saute the fresh garlic and onion to add flavor, then add the canned goods, season, and let everything simmer for a bit. The end result is this deliciously spicy comfort side that can be served with basically any meat you’re cooking. Even if you don’t like tomatoes, you would probably like this dish. My husband and I loved it so much we were still talking about it a week later!

My Grandma introduced me to the idea of black-eyed peas and stewed tomatoes cooked together. She would can her own stewed tomatoes which were a lot better than this can, but anything she touched in the kitchen was amazing anyway. This is an old southern combo that she loved making and I have just added some spice to it. If you’re really country, break off a couple pieces of white store bread and dip it in this dish. You can thank me later.