Black Eye Peas with Turkey Bacon and Chilies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup dry Black Eye Peas

10 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons oil divided

5 slices of thick turkey bacon cut in to 1/4" pieces

1 1/2 cups diced onion

1/4 cup diced hot chili peppers

1 tablespoon pressed garlic

1 teaspoon black pepper

Step One:
Pour the black eye peas into a colander and rinse. Dried beans can contain stones, and other debris.  Transfer the beans to a large pot and fill it with 6 cups cold water. Add salt and bring the water to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove  from the heat and cover for 3 hours.









Step Two:
Remove the turkey bacon from package and cut  it into 1/4" pieces. The bacon here is the thicker cut kind of turkey bacon. If your grocery only carries the thin kind, then you can use that, but you'll need 8 slices.  Thick cut pork bacon can be used as well. Another posibility here would be to use smoked poultry or meat products. Add 1 teaspoon of oil to a 6-quart pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat and render the bacon. Remove it from the pan and reserve. Continue using the same pot for the next steps.












Step Three:
Reduce the temperature to medium. Add one teaspoon of oil. Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft and golden. Add in the chili peppers and cook until they too are soft stirring occasionally.

Step Four:
Add the garlic and the reserved bacon to the onion and chili mixture. Stir frequently for about 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Add the beans and 4 cups of water to the mixture and bring it to a boil.  Remove mixture from the heat. Pour the bean mixture into a slower cooker. Set the slow cooker to medium (or low depending on your model) and cook for 6 hours.