I have an old party standby.  Ok it isn’t that old.  Where the history of this recipe originated from is unknown to me.  All I know is that my mom gave it to me years ago, and once I finally made it for some get together, it became a party staple.  It’s funny how simple things can be the party glue.  You don’t always have to wow with fancy appetizers or stress about keeping other starters hot in a chafing dish.  This recipe pleases virtually everyone, and it is super simple to make.  I swear by it. Now I know that some may turn a nose up to the bottled italian dressing used here, but I don’t care.  I really don’t.  Now I do have preference on the type of Italian dressing….but that’s on y’all to decide!

texas caviar:

1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1/2 red onion, diced
4 green onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 plum tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1 bottle Italian dressing (I used Wishbone Italian Robusto)

get started on the caviar:

Drain the black-eyed peas, black beans and hominy in a colander and rinse.  Add to a large mixing bowl.  Start dicing the peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes.  Toss into the mixing bowl and combine with the beans.  Add the Italian dressing and parsley.  Stir to combine.  It is ideal to make this a day in advance and store in an airtight container, but it isn’t required.  Using a slotted spoon, add caviar to a serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

note:  this serves a crowd of 10-15.  I have added various other ingredients from time to time, like cucumber, olives, mild green chilies…you name it.