Redneck Caviar

Happy New Year! This year, we rang in the New Year by having a few friends over to watch the Auburn bowl game, and then by playing board games afterward. It was a lot of fun. I decided to make some redneck caviar for everyone to munch on. This dip goes by many names: redneck caviar, Texas caviar, Tippah County caviar, etc.

Now, Jonathan and I are by no stretch of the imagination rednecks. We don't like to hunt or fish. But what we do like is redneck caviar. The great thing about it is that everyone likes it. Health nuts like it because it has lots of vegetables, and even picky boys like it. I once made this for a group of Jonathan's friends, and they ate it like it was candy, and even asked me for a refill :)

Here's my version of redneck caviar:

2 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

2 cans Rotel, drained

1 to 2 cans shoepeg corn (to taste)

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp. black pepper

8 oz. Italian dressing (or more to taste)

Tortilla chips for serving

1/4 cup red onion (optional)

Combine all ingredients except chips in a bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate (it's tasty after a couple of hours, but it's REALLY good if you let it sit in the refrigerator overnight). Stir, and serve with tortilla chips.

**You can leave the onion out if you don't like it, but I had some on hand this time, so I threw it in there. This is a versatile dip, so whatever you like, you can add!