At my job, we sometimes have to work the holidays. You can let it drag you down or you can make it fun (the time and a half pay always gives a nice few extra bucks to the paycheck). All of us in the lab got together and decided to bring some food and have a little party to start the New Year. Someone brought a tortellini pasta and some brownies. I kept with the tradition of New Years and made a chili with black-eyed peas. Eating black-eyed peas on New Years day brings good luck and is thought to bring prosperity. It was really good and I posted the recipe below.

BLACK-EYED-PEA CHILI

• – from azcentral

Ingredients

• 1 can (about 15 ounces) black-eyed peas
• 2 cups halved grape tomatoes
• 8 ounces 90 percent lean beef
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 tablespoon chili pepper
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 avocado
• juice of 1 lime, divided use
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Rinse and drain peas. Combine half the peas and half the tomatoes in a food processor; blend until smooth. Heat a wide-bottom pot over medium-high. Add beef; cook and crumble until browned. Move beef to a bowl. Add half the onions and remaining tomatoes to the pot. Saute until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Return beef to pot. Stir in bean-to-mato puree, chili powder, ketchup, and water. Simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mash avocado with half the lime juice and half the cilantro; set aside. Stir the remaining lime juice and cilantro into the chili. Dish chili into bowls and top with the avocado mash.