Black Eyed Pea and Kale Salad in Salumi Cups: A New Year's Day Good Luck Appetizer

A bite size appetizer of black eyed peas and kale salad, served in salumi cups. A terrific bite to ensure good luck in the New Year.

Why is it considered good luck to eat black eyed peas on New Year's day?  Since I didn't learn about this tradition until I lived in the South as an adult, do Northerners/East Coasters/ Westerners/Midwesterners not have good luck ever?  What about folks in other countries?  Not everyone eats black eyed peas, you know.
Heavy questions for a busy time.  All I know is in addition to jumping into the New Year (from a stair, not a chair) I like to eat black eyed peas this time of year.  I'm good with these traditions--one's silly fun to do, and the other's tasty.
Sometimes I like to make Hoppin' John, sometimes I like to change it up a bit.  Here's a bite size appetizer way to get your New Year Good Luck, and if meat is not your thing, there's a bonus recipe below to an alternate salad/leftover remake.
Updated Note:  My mom emailed me that she knew salumi was not a typo but she didn't know what it was.  Salumi is the name for a category of dry cured meat.  Salami and prosciutto are examples of salumi.  I'm thinking pepperoni may be as well.  Learn something new?  I try to each day!

Chicken Spaghetti Pizza

Shredded, cooked chicken and chunky spaghetti sauce topped with fresh mozzarella

I've been reading about comfort foods recently.   Jen's round up at Savory Simple  and Julie's round up at Texan New Yorker have me drooling and plotting what to make with and without my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve.  The weather is cold, it's icy out (the wiener dogs are ALL BUSINESS on walks, whereas Simon the Lab mix is prone to frolicking) and it just feels good to cocoon at home.  Who am I kidding?  I always like to cocoon at home!

It's funny, when I reflect back on the foods I liked growing up, how many of what were 'frugal' meals (we called them 'cheap night' dinners), are the ones I remember fondly.  In fact, a dish of sautéed beet greens is my version of mom's Swiss chard side dish.  We probably ate it because we grew Swiss chard in the garden and therefore it was less expensive (and more delicious, and nutritious) than buying vegetables in the store--but to me it's pure comfort food.

One of those memorable meals is Chicken Spaghetti.  I haven't made it in years--but Mom emailed me the recipe . . . um, twice (I'm a bit distracted) . . . and I will.  Before I do, though, I can share this pizza.  I was looking through the fridge for something to top our Friday Night Pizza Night when I realized we had both leftover chicken and leftover spaghetti sauce.

My friend Miho once said I had a fridge like Aunt Dorothy--you could find such a variety of leftovers.  Although I'd never met Aunt Dorothy, I do have an astonishing variety of leftovers almost all the time.  I even sent a full--leftover--Thanksgiving meal to folks who unexpectedly ended up in the hospital during a vacation in our city.  In April.  No, the leftovers were not 6 months old, nor was I blogging and shooting photos ahead of time.  I'd fixed a Thanksgiving meal for the spouse after a deployment.

Back to pizza.  Why not a Chicken Spaghetti Pizza?  It's a comfort food that tastes wonderful and uses up leftovers as well.

Orange Teriyaki Slaw Stir Fry with Orange Sriracha Turkey Meatballs

A colorful, flavorful, stir fry of red cabbage, carrot, celery and onion in a fresh orange and teriyaki sauce.  Served with orange-ginger-sriracha turkey meatballs and rice.

This is another Fast from the Farm Share meal, combining Band Fruit Fundraiser oranges and cool weather vegetables in an Asian-inspired stir fry.  Because I had it, I baked ground turkey meatballs flavored with orange, ginger, and sriracha separately and added them at the end, but this orange-sauced stir fry would be terrific as a side with a different protein source.

Working on the savory orange recipes section of my Fall and Winter Fruit Recipe Round Up gave me a hankering for Asian-influenced orange recipes.  Since I like to use what I've got, I opened the fridge and chose a red cabbage, a fat carrot, and the last of the celery for this stir fry.  It's pretty much slaw ingredients--seasoned differently and stir fried. I used ground turkey for the same reason--and because the idea of having my daughter mix, shape, and bake the meatballs appealed to me after a day of hauling fruit in and out of vehicles.

I don't have a juicer--but I have a blender, so I tossed the peeled orange and all of the sauce ingredients into the blender and made quick work of the sauce.  Getting the rice going first, and baking the meatballs while working on the stir fry, means that this meal comes together very quickly.

If you want a bright and colorful vegetable side, or a flavorful omnivore meal, try this dish.  It brightens a dreary day.