Make sure your rice cooker is large enough (8-cup or larger) to accomodate the ingredients, and be sure the lid seals properly to keep the steam inside the cooker. Be sure to use canned black-eyed peas since dried peas will take much longer to cook than the rice. Get creative: Instead of sausage, ground meat would work great in this dish, and a variation using red beans would be an interesting Cajun combination. Or try a Tex-Mex version using raw chorizo sausage and pinto or black beans. Trappey's brand beans are an old-line South Louisiana product, but most any canned beans will work well. I do not drain the canning liquid before adding; I like how the added flavor absorbs into the rice. I like the spicy addition of the jalapeño in the canned beans, but feel free to leave it out; your guests can always add hot sauce at the table. Also, be sure to buy the "mild" version of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and chiles. Don’t over-stir this dish once cooked at the risk of it becoming gummy. Store any leftovers in the rice cooker and when you reheat, just add a bit of water to steam the rice mixture.