We always had black eyed peas on New Years Days for luck. Even when we were stationed away from Texas we always had them. Today I made "Hoppin John Soup". I sauted an onion, bell pepper and some celery together, added some link sausage, (like Hillshire Farms) sliced, 3 cans peas, drained, 1 can ro-tel tomatoes and 3 can chicken broth. It was a little spicy and I served it over rice, with cornbread. Very good.