Mixed Vegetable Fricassee featuring East Texas Purple Hull Peas

The Holiday Season brings many challenges when it comes to getting a good healthy meal on the table. The hustle and bustle can often leave us unmotivated and exhausted. However, it's also the time of year that we have opportunities to gather with friends and family, who head back home to celebrate the season. Our good friends at Hamilton Beach have stepped in to help make life a little easier with their Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker. With the help of this slow cooker, entertaining and sharing favorite foods with family and friends will be much easier.

You can also head off to work or the mall and leave the cooking to Hamilton Beach with the convenient programmable mode that will allow you to set the slow cooker on a low or high setting for your desired time. At the end of your cooking time, it will automatically switch over to warm to keep your dish hot until you arrive home and are ready to serve. There are also two other cooking modes. One is by temperature using a probe and the other manually, which I used in preparing my dish.

Check out the other great features at the link above. One of my favorites is the clip lock that secures the lid and allows you to travel with your dish without having to worry about spillage.

Today, I have chosen a dish that comes from my East Texas roots. During the summer months, my extended family and I head to the farm stands and farmer's markets to pick up a bounty of black eyed peas, purple hull peas, cream peas, fresh corn, okra, etc. We purchase large amounts that we freeze and use throughout the fall and winter months. You will find that my Mixed Vegetable Fricassee featuring East Texas Purple Hull Peas is hearty enough for Meatless Monday (omitting the bacon) or will compliment any casual or formal meal.

Mixed Vegetable Fricassee featuring East Texas Purple Hull Peas
by Linda
Adapted from The Kitchen Table cookboook

3 cups frozen purple hull peas (frozen black-eyed peas or other type of field peas will work too)
4 ounces uncured peppered turkey bacon, chopped finely (I used Trader Joe's)

2 cubes of Dorot Crushed Garlic or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 carton low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups frozen okra, cut into rounds
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups sweet tri-color peppers, seeded and sliced into rings or strips
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper (omit if your bacon is heavily peppered)

1 cup roma tomatoes, sliced

Chopped green onions for garnish

1. Rinse frozen peas and place in slow cooker.

2. Add bacon, garlic and vegetable broth.

3. Manually set slow cooker for 4 hours on the high setting.

4. Two hours into your cooking time add okra, corn, tri-colored peppers, jalapeno, parsley, basil, salt and pepper.

5. The last thirty minutes of your cooking time, add tomatoes.

6. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

7. Place in serving dish and garnish with green onions.

Serve with your favorite rice and hot green pepper sauce. Enjoy!