Hi, Jen, it sounds very much like you may have bought purple hull peas which look very much like black-eyed peas. I am originally from Mississippi, and my family as i was growing up ate "boatloads" of these. They can be cooked any number of ways. If you like, you can cook the peas in fatback like many southerners cook their vegetables. Of course, you would boil the fatback (or bacon) first to get the good flavor out of it. Add salt and the peas, then cook the peas about 15 minutes or so, depending on the quantity. Taste the peas to see if they taste "done." Usually the peas will turn a bit darker and not look so green when done. If you like pepper in the peas, add black pepper at the time you add the salt. If you don't want to use fatback, you might use butter. At times, you can just add bouillon cubes rather than having any fat. The bouillon cubes will add a good amount of flavor without adding fat.
Yummy! Hope this will help you.