2012 April

Smoky Black Eyed Peas

Hey!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend spend with friends and family! I spent a lot of time thinking about what Easter was really about and it had nothing to do with bunnies and chocolate eggs. I thought a lot about sacrifice, hope, and blessings that I’ve received and in no way deserve. I also spent time thanking Jesus for his sacrifice for me. That’s what Easter is about.

We spent part of the day with family- my brother and his wife and my brand new little niece!! My parents and my sister in laws wonderful family was there and we had some serious chow for Easter lunch! We had two types of grits, spinach salad, asparagus, biscuits, and these black eyed peas! (also I think there was ham there, but honestly I pay absolutely no attention to meat). We also had really great seats at the Rangers game and watched them whoop up on the White Socks!

These black eyed peas are pretty amazing over grits or you could serve them with some corn bread and a big ole mess of greens! The key to the deliciousness of this dish is the smoked paprika, so don’t skimp on it! (tip: in grocery stores that have bulk spices smoked paprika is super cheap- we’re talking 50 cents versus the $5 you’ll pay for it in a bottle!)

Smoky Black Eyed Peas

(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients

1 onion, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
2 t chili powder
2 t smoked paprika
1/2 t ground cumin
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt (or to taste)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
2 (15 oz) bags frozen black eyed peas

Instructions

Saute diced onion and poblano over medium heat in a little olive oil or cooking spray in a large saucepan until onions are translucent.

Add chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Cook for 1 minute.

Stir in tomato sauce and vegetable broth.

Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. During the last 10 minutes of cooking uncover your pot and so that the sauce will thicken and some of the liquid will evaporate.

Hope you love this as much as I did!

Springtime in Texas

Howdy! Spring is my favorite season! And it’s gorgeous in Texas this time of year!!!

The wildflowers are the best part of spring. Our roadsides are absolutely covered in them! Seas of absolutely gorgeous bluebonnets!! I’m in heaven during bluebonnet season!

Also walking/jogging/biking on the Trinity Trails is absolutely amazing right now!

Yes we have trails for our horses, however we don’t have pooper scooper laws for them unfortunately!!

So pretty!!!

One day when I took a new trail head I came across a gorgeous waterfall area! Turns out it is the only natural waterfall in Fort Worth!! It’s breathtaking! I’ve been back twice since then and just sat and stared at it and had some prayer and reflection time. It’s so serene and you really put a lot of things in perspective when you’re staring at the natural beauty God created! Also I don’t think many people know about this area- there’s never anyone else there!