Slow Cooker Blackeye Peas and Collard greens

Fresh Collard Greens, 1 large bunch, washed with stems removed and torn into small pieces
Blackeye Peas 1& 1/2 cup dry
Water, tap, 7 cup
Vegetable bullion, 3 tsp
Cumin, .5 tsp
Liquid smoke, .75 tsp
Dried Kelp - about a thumb length broken in pieces
Garlic 4 cloves chopped fine
I dried small red chili pepper

You can if you wish just put all of the ingredients (after soaking the beans) in the slow cooker all at once and just cook. But I prefer to caramelize the onions and cook the garlic first. I cooked the collards before adding them to the cooker because I was concerned that the 3 cups of water needed to cook the dish wouldn't cover the collards in the crock pot and allow them to cook without stirring them down part way through cooking. I wasn't going to be around to do that so I solved the problem by cooking them a little first.

Rinse dried beans and remove stones. Place beans in a container and cover with 4 cups of water. Let stand overnight. In the morning drain and rinse, discarding soaking water.

In a large pot place collard greens and water. Cook until collards wilt and reduce, about 5 minutes of boiling will reduce the collards.

In a fry pan caramelize the onions in water, adding enough water to just keep onions from sticking, stirring constantly. This takes about 15 minutes. When the onions are almost caramelized, add the chopped garlic a splash of water and cook for a minute or so.

Prepare slow cooker and add the collards with water, the onions and garlic, the spices, chili pepper and kelp. Stir to combine and cook for 8 hours on high.

Remove the chili pepper and serve.

Serving Size: Makes 10, 1/2 cup servings

Number of Servings: 10

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user IMVEGAN.