On New Year's Day, superstitious people, and even those that aren’t don’t take a chance; will prepare their good luck recipes in hopes of bringing about a prosperous new year!!  

For centuries, people have dined on certain foods thought to bring good fortune in terms of riches, love, and good health for the New Year ahead.

Greens – Kale, collards, and cabbage consumed on New Year’s Day represent money.  Who doesn’t want to make a little extra money in the New Year!! 

Rings - Seek out ring-shaped food for breakfast. Consider bagels or doughnuts for breakfast (that’s not hard!), which represent not only carby deliciousness, but also the year coming full circle. Pound cakes baked in a ring shaped pan are all perfect for a lucky dessert! 

Pork – This one is easy in the South; many consider pork to be the luckiest of all foods to eat on New Year's Day. Why? Pigs are rotund, which represents prosperity. They also "root forward" with their noses, which is supposed to symbolize progress. You can choose to eat your lucky pig any which way, including ham, sausage, ham hocks, bacon, pancetta, etc.   

Black-Eyed Peas – Peas and other beans are symbolic of money.  Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. 

Happy New Year, and don’t take the chance start out right with some of these recipes sure to bring you good luck!!

Creamed Greens

(Keto Friendly) 

2 pounds fresh clean greens (collards, kale, spinach)

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

2 ounces, soft cheese, Gorgonzola or Brie are options

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Wash and remove any tough stems from your greens (especially if using kale).   Put the greens, water and salt in a large pot and bring to a covered boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.  

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic and sauté until the garlic is just turning brown.  Turn the heat down to low and add the cubed cream cheese, cream, salt, soft cheese, and half of the Parmesan.  Stir gently while the mixture melts together.  Not allow the sauce to get too hot.  

When the greens have cooked for 20 minutes, all of the water should have cooked out.  Remove the greens to a cutting board and make a nice neat pile in the center of the board.  Using the lid from your pot press on the greens while tilting your cutting board into the sick.  Pres the greens until very little water remains.  Using a sharp knife cut the pressed greens in one direction about every half inch.  Make a quarter turn to your cutting board and cut through the greens again across the previous cuts.  This will give you even pieces to add to the sauce.  

Preheat your broiler to high.

When the sauce is smooth and all of the cheese has fully incorporated remove it from the heat and stir in the chopped greens.  Pour the greens into a medium sized casserole dish and smooth them into one layer.  Top the dish with the remaining Parmesan cheese and broil for several minutes just until the top is getting brown.  Keep a watchful eye. 

Serve the creamed greens as a side dish.  Serves 6. 

New Year’s Day Good Luck Crock Pot Soup

1 ½ pounds ground sausage

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

2-3 cups cabbage, chopped (you can use your leftover collards here)

2 cups water

2 (14 ½ ounce) cans stewed tomatoes

1 (10 ounce) can Rotel Tomatoes

1 tablespoon beef bouillon 

1 tablespoon molasses or brown sugar, or local honey

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

Brown sausage, onion and garlic.  Place in a 5-6 quart slow cooker with remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  

Serve with your favorite cornbread.  This soup gets even tastier after being refrigerated a few days.

Chili-Roasted Black-Eyed Peas

2 (15.8 ounce) cans black eyed peas rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon pepper

¾ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Transfer mixture to a lightly greased jelly roll pan.  Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until crispy and dry, stirring every 10 minutes.  Let cool 20 minutes.  

Pulled Pork Cornbread Pie

2 cups cooked greens, you can use your leftover collards

1 box corn-muffin mix*

1 container of your favorite prepared BBQ with sauce

1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare corn-muffin mix as label directs for corn bread, but do not bake

Spread sauce with pork in the bottom of 1 ½ quart glass or ceramic baking dish.  Top with black-eyed peas and collard greens.  Spoon batter evenly over greens.  Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until filling is hot and top is well browned. 

* I used Jiffy Cornbread Mix

Good Luck Cake 

½ cup slivered almonds

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup low fat plain or vanilla Greek yogurt

2 cups granulated sugar

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Optional:  whipped cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a Bundt pan well with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle slivered almonds in the bottom and on the sides of the Bundt pan.  Set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric stand mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy.  Add yogurt and beat until combined.  Add the sugar and beat until combined.  

With the mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, beating until combined.  Add extracts and beat until combined.  

Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed until combined.  Pour into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  

Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.  Serve with whipped cream and toasted almonds if desired.  Serves 16.