Cooking from your pantry and utilizing leftovers from the refrigerator often yields some unique and tasty results, such as Black Eyed Peas and Ham with Jalapeño and Chive Cornbread, pictured above.

Just like everybody, we are well into social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We've stocked our pantry with the usuals - rice, beans, pasta, jarred and canned goods, spices, baking supplies, etc., plus the refrigerator and freezer are pulling their own weight. I pick up a small bone-in ham, since it's the gift that keeps on giving, but can find only one kind of dried bean on the shelf - black eyed peas. I've never used them, but I'm gonna now. A bean is a pea is a bean, right?

After a lovely Sunday dinner of Baked Ham and Scalloped Potatoes (click for potato recipe), I start my soup/stew a few days later. I don't even know what to call this concoction besides yummy. The black eyed peas soak overnight covered by 3 - 4" of water. The next morning I assemble my ingredients and bust out the crock pot. A soup pot will certainly do.

The ingredients are assembled and ready to jump in the pot! There may be a finishing touch or two later, so please keep reading.

(1) small ham bone plus several cups of cooked ham
(8) cups of chopped carrot, celery and onion
(3) cloves of smashed garlic
(1) 28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes (sauce or diced tomatoes will work)
(1) 12 oz. bag of dried black eyed peas, soaked overnight. Any kind of dried or canned bean will do here, just change the name of the dish (and shorten the cooking time with canned beans)!!
16 oz. of chicken, beef or vegetable stock/broth
1T. (palmful) each of: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, thyme, oregano, plus (3) bay leaves
Any refrigerator scraps that need using and might just work

I've managed to cobble together a ham bone (the ham has been removed and saved for later), some coarsely chopped celery, onion and carrots, garlic, canned tomatoes, about every spicy spice I could find, some beef broth, fresh herbs and of course, the soaked black eyed peas. Time to get this party started. I basically dump everything in and do 1T. of each spice (above) plus a few bay leaves, salt and pepper. The lid goes on and I go outside, carry on with my day and somewhere along the way I make some cornbread (click for recipe, it is delicious!!). Dried, soaked beans take some time to cook, but if you want to pull this off in an hour or less, use canned beans, I promise not to judge you. Much.

The finished product, ready for some cornbread and maybe a cold beer! Pass some out to your neighbors in a socially responsible way, then freeze the rest. So good and very healthy!

After a day of cooking (no-one wants a crunchy bean), the beans are ready! I taste test and adjust the seasonings (maybe added salt), then look through the refrigerator and find a few things -- a spinach/kale mix that is still good but not salad material, some canned baby corn that I used in a ramen dish the other night, and of course, the ham, plus some fresh thyme and oregano. Everybody in! I give it a few stirs, bake off the cornbread and we have a meal. Easter is coming, if you are planning a large ham for your small group, this is a great recipe for using the leftovers, again, using what you have, and afterwards, drop off some care packages to neighbors and friends. This freezes well, too. Take care of one another, and thanks for following!

Hearty Black Eyed Peas & Ham Soup Recipe