Meatless Mondays: Chickpea Nicoise Salad

This salad is an original recipe but obviously inspired by nicoise salads with meat in it. The salad was delicious, I barely missed having meat. Highly recommend this when you're in the mood for a light dinner. This recipe makes about 1 serving, simply double for 2 recipes.

Ingredients:
2 cups of romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
1 cup of baby spinach
1/4 onion sliced
1/2 tomato diced
2 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 cup green beans, washed and trimmed
2 tbsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese or blue cheese

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing:
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp herbs de provence
salt and pepper to taste

1. Add two eggs to rolling boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes. Set aside in cold water for a few minutes to let the egg shrink away from the shell for easy peeling.
2. In another medium-large pot, add about 6 cups of water and Mrs. Dash seasoning (I used garlic and herb) and a heaping pinch of salt to the water.
3. Bring the seasoned water to a boil and add the green beans. Boil for 10 minutes or until slightly softened.
4. Begin preparing the salad by laying down the romaine and spinach on a plate.
5. Add sliced onions, 1/2 cup of rinsed and drained chickpeas, 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese, diced tomato, sliced and peeled hard boiled eggs, and )using a serving spoon with drain holes) add the green beans on to the bed of lettuce.
6. Prepare the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisking together until emulsified. If the dressing seems too thick add more vinegar, if its clumpy whisk more or add more mustard.
7. Spoon 2 tbsp of dressing over the salad and enjoy!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Found the below recipe in an internet search when I had a hankering for crispy chickpeas. I had friends try to make crunchy chickpeas at home and they would comment that most recipes weren't able to make them crunchy, I tweaked the linked recipe a bit and was able to get the chickpeas crunchy! Not rocket science, but I just cranked the heat up a bit and it helped immensely. I recommend this recipe to go with dinner as texture to a dish or as a healthy snack.

Spicy Chickpea Recipe Inspiration

Ingredients:
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder or cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste ( I added about 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. Put rinsed and drained chickpeas in a bowl and add the spices and olive oil. Mix well.
3. Pour the chickpeas onto a cooking sheet and shake the sheet to space the chickpeas evenly. You don't want them on top of each other.
4. Roast chickpeas in the preheated oven on a greased cooking sheet for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Shake the tray a few times while the chickpeas are cooking to move them around so they cook evenly. Keep an eye on them as well when they are cooking to make sure they are not burning, everyone's oven is a little different.
6. Pull them out of the oven and enjoy!

Meatless Mondays: Chickpea Coconut Curry

This is an original recipe but you can find other recipes similar to it on the internet. I have made curries enough at this point, they're pretty easy to throw together. I love coconut curries so much! This recipe was made for meatless Mondays! The idea behind it is to help lower your carbon footprint by eating less meat even if it's just one day a week.

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp coconut oil or olive oil
1 can of light coconut milk
1 tbsp of chopped jalapeno
1 cup of diced fresh tomato (I used cherry tomatoes)
1 large yellow onion, chopped or 2 small onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp of lime juice
1/4 cup (or more if you want) of chopped cilantro
1 tbsp of lime juice
1 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp of curry powder (can use store bought spice mixes or the below homemade mix)
2 cups of brown rice, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Curry Powder:
2 tbsp Turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in a deep saute pan until shimmering. Add diced onions, jalapeno, and garlic to the oil.
2. Saute for 3-5 minutes on medium heat until onions are translucent and lightly browned.
3. Add in the curry powder and mix well with the onions, jalapeno, and garlic until the veggies absorb it. Saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add coconut milk, brown sugar, lime juice, diced tomato, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the coconut curry sauce to a simmer.
5. Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the curry sauce is nice and thick.
6. Turn off the heat and add the chopped cilantro and mix into the curry.
7. Garnish with more cilantro if desired and pour over cooked brown rice. Enjoy!

Easy Chickpea and Asparagus Pasta

I was inspired by the recipe link below and made some adjustments to that recipe. I used asparagus because it was seasonal but you could substitute almost any vegetable for this recipe. This recipe makes about 3-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are.

http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2010/04/vegetarian-meals-slideshow#slide=8

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas
1 bunch of asparagus
1 tbsp of fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1 jar of your favorite marinara or tomato sauce, I used newman's own organic
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
2/3 cup of green olives, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz of whole wheat spaghetti, or 4 cups cooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep:
1. Dice 1/2 large onion into small pieces
2. Mince the two garlic cloves
3. Wash asparagus, cut off the tough bottoms of all stems. Then chop the asparagus into one inch pieces.
4. Slice 2/3 cup of green olives or buy them sliced in a can.
5. Drain and rinse chickpeas

Instructions:
1. Begin heating olive oil at medium high heat in a deep saute pan.
2. Add minced garlic and diced onion and saute at medium heat for 3-5 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
3. Add thyme, oregano, and asparagus to onions and garlic and saute for another 3-5 minutes until onion is translucent and asparagus has softened slightly.
4. Add chickpeas, olives, and marinara sauce to the asparagus and onions.
5. Add fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.
6. Add fresh basil leaves after sauce comes to a simmer and stir.
7. Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes.

8. While the sauce is simmering, begin boiling 10 cups of salted water for the pasta.
9. Once water is boiling add whole wheat pasta to the pot of water. Cook until al dente (7-10 minutes of cooking time)
10. When the pasta is al dente, drain and set aside.

11. Pour sauce over pasta and serve.