Black Eyed Pea Soup

Lara's mom here. We had this tasty soup on New Year's Day, and when Lara found out that I was holding out a recipe with a picture from the blog without posting, she demanded (nicely of course) that I type it up immediately. So here I am in Virginia visiting my favorite oldest daughter and instead of playing with grandkids, I'm typing up this recipe. The recipe called for it to be made in the crock pot, but I just cooked it on low for an hour and it was PERFECT!

The ingredients:
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 Tbs. oil
2 cans (15-1/2 oz. each) black eyed peas (or black beans)
2-1/2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup diced, cooked, smoked ham
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 dash, or more to taste, cayenne pepper
1-2 drops, or more, of Tabasco sauce
Sour cream (for garnishment)

Saute onion and garlic and oil in saucepan until tender. Add drained black eyed peas to sauteed ingredients. Combine all ingredients except sour cream. Cover and cook for about 1 hour OR place in crock pot on low for 4-6 hours. Add dollop of sour cream to each individual bowl before serving. We served it with sun-dried tomato bread which I also have a recipe and picture for (but, shhh, don't tell Lara.)

Enjoy!