Crispy Oven Roasted Chickpeas

I actually made this a couple weeks ago, but have been super busy wedding dress shopping and St. Patty's Day partying. :P I had a bunch of chickpeas (made from dry) that I needed to use fast, since they're only good a few days after you cook them. And I found a snack recipe for them! They turned out great. I actually took them on a Color "Run" 5k that my friend and I did, and these were a good pre-run snack while we were waiting for the run to start.

Original recipe here

Servings: 10
About 172 calories per serving  (~100g per serving)

Ingredients:
5 cups garbanzo beans/chick peas (canned or cooked from dry)
3 tbps olive oil
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper

Step 1: Drain and rinse chickpeas, if not already done. Lay out on paper towel to dry.
Step 2: Preheat the oven 400°F.
Step 3: Combine olive oil, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and salt in a bowl.
Step 4: Place chickpeas in a medium to large bowl.  Pour the spice mixture over the chickpeas and toss until coated.
Step 5: Spread chickpeas on a baking sheet (I lined mine with aluminum foil). Make sure they're not too tightly packed.*
Step 6: Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.  Carefully shake the tray a couple times between cooking.**
Step 7: Remove from oven. Serve hot or room temperature.

*I had to use two baking sheets to have them spread out. If you have too many on one sheet, they take longer to get crispy.
**I shook tray at 15 minutes in and 30 minutes in.

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 50 minutes (5 minute prep, 45 minutes cook)

As you can see, this recipe is SUPER easy. And so yummy. I ate a whole serving right when they came out out the oven. Sooooooooooooo good. They're still good after they've cooled, and even after a couple days (stored in ziploc bags), but they're the best right out of the oven.

Ingredients

Step 3

Step 5 - This tray took a little longer to get the peas crispy

Slow-Cooker Barley and Chickpea Risotto

I've been eating pretty badly after I get home from work...either because I snack on random stuff, or each too much pizza during MTG night...or because I don't feel like cooking. So I wanted to pick something easy that was healthy....AND I wanted to use barley, because I'd just read an article saying barley was a good add-in for healthy eating. So I found the this recipe on Pinterest and it sounded pretty simple. That's what I based my attempt on (I changed some things slightly and doubled it up since I have a large slow-cooker).

My mistake....trying to start with dried chickpeas...without looking up/remembering that not only do they need to be soaked overnight (which I did), they need to be cooked in a pot of water for an hour and a half (which I didn't). So that was stressful, there I was in the middle of preparing all this stuff to toss into the slow-cooker and....I had no chickpeas.....Go me.

BUT...I ran to the store and grabbed some canned chickpeas really quickly, and finished setting up the slow-cooker. The rest of the prep was pretty easy. AND IT WAS GOOD.

Servings: 10
About 291 calories per serving

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
30 baby carrots, chopped
3 tsp garlic powder
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 yellow onion, minced/chopped
3 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups pearl barley, rinsed
2 cans (15.5 ounces) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
5 cups beef broth (prepared from beef Bouillon)*
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

*can opt for vegetable or chicken broth, per original recipe

Step 1: Heat oil in large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, garlic, cauliflower and onion. Cook until veggies begin to soften (about 5-8 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Stir in thyme and barley; cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 3: Transfer mixture to slow-cooker. Stir in garbanzo beans (chickpeas), broth, water, salt and pepper. Cook on high about 2-1/2 hours or until barley is tender and most liquid is absorbed.
Step 4: Stir in lemon juice.
Step 5: Serve; top with parmesan, if desired.

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 3.5 hours (45 minute prep*, 2 hour 45 minutes cook)

*My prep time is exceedingly long because I kept running around trying to figure out the garbanzo beans/chick peas. My estimation is that regular prep should take no longer than 20-30 minutes. And most of the cook time is just letting it sit in the slow cooker!

I'll definitely be making this again. I had a ton of left overs, and it reheats REALLY well. I even mixed in some crushed red pepper to give it a little kick, and that worked out great! Super easy (minus the chickpea fiasco) and some down time do work out or clean or whatever floats your boat! This recipe actually work perfectly for me, since I usually get home from work around 3-4, so even if I need to prep everything right then, dinner would still be done around 6-7. And since this is a one-pot meal (it's got veggies, protein, and carbs), you really don't HAVE to serve it with anything else....just eat more of it. ^^

Ingredients

Prepped carrots & onions (used Pampered Chef food chopper)

Rinsed Barley

Step 3 (Everything mixed in the CrockPot!)

Step 5 (already topped with Parmesan)

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

I've been using black beans in some of my salads recently, but don't use up enough of the can quick enough. So I've been searching for recipes that use black beans! And I found this Tortilla and Black Bean "Pie" recipe on MarthaStewart.com. It sounded and looked delicious, so I had to try it! And I love quesadillas, and this sounded similar, just a giant one! I changed a few ingredients, my modified list is below. Click here to see the original recipe.

Servings: 6
About 455 calories per serving

Ingredients:
4 whole wheat tortillas (9 inch)
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, diced
6-8 hot chili peppers (jarred), diced*
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained/rinsed
12 oz beer**
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
8 oz shredded cheddar/jack cheese (~2 1/2 cups)

*I left the seeds in, but you can remove them if you want less spicy hot flavor.
**Can use 1 1/2 cups water instead.

Step 1: If your tortillas are bigger than your springform pan, trim them to fit. Mine fit almost perfectly, so I didn't need to do any trimming.
Step 2: Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, hot peppers, cumin, and garlic powder. Cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Add beer (or water) and beans. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer 8-12 minutes, or until liquid is mostly evaporated. Also, pre-heat oven to 400F once you start simmering.
Step 4: Stir in corn, then remove from heat.
Step 5: Put one tortilla in bottom of pan. Layer 1/4 of bean mix and 1/2 cup of cheese.
Step 6: Repeat Step 5 three times; use 1 cup of cheese on top-most layer.
Step 7: Bake 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted.
Step 8: Slice into 6 wedges and serve.

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes (15 minute prep, 1 hour cook)

This was delicious!! There's not a lot of active cooking time (except when you're first cooking the onions and peppers). So there's not that much "active" time for this recipe. But a lot of waiting. So don't start to make this if you're starving, because it will be at least an hour before you eat. But it is totally worth the wait.

My fiance suggested adding some form of meat (of course). I may try ground beef or turkey next time (would brown it right before or with the onions).

Ingredients

Ingredients (prep)

Step 3 (once most of liquid is evaporated)

Step 5

Step 5-6

Rainbow Scramble

One of my goals this year is to lose some weight and get fit (yes, I'm a sheep). I've been working out semi-regularly for a while, but my eating habits weren't great, especially around the holidays. So for the new year, I started a new workout program by Beachbody called LesMills Combat. With the program came a nutrition guide, which included a few recipes. This recipe is adapted from their "Rainbow Scramble". Basically an egg-white omelet with some mix-ins and topping. I ate it with a side of grapefruit.

Serves 1
Approx. 230 calories per serving

Ingredients:
5 large egg whites*
1/4 tsp sea salt (or table salt)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp corn kernels, fresh or frozen**
1/2 medium tomato, diced
1/2 medium avocado, sliced

*I don't like wasting yolks from separating out the whites, so I used liquid egg whites.
**I used canned corn kernels from Costco

Step 1: Mix egg whites in medium bowl with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat; add corn and tomato. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 3: Add egg whites to skillet, cook over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes or until eggs are set, stirring frequently.
Step 4: Top with avocado.

Recipe times: not listed
My times: Prep - 8 minutes; Cook - 8 minutes
Total time: 16 minutes 

Ingredients

Veggie prep

Finished recipe

Roasted Tofu

Now that I've started Weight Watchers online, I've been seriously cutting back on the miscellaneous snacks and trying hard to stick to vegetables only (0 point foods). But I'm getting tired of carrots and cucumbers, so I wanted to see if there was a simple recipe for tofu that could be used as a snack, since it's a lean protein and delicious! I found several meal recipes using tofu, but none that was a Tofu only recipe, so I used a combination of several different methods I found online and came up with this Roasted Tofu recipe! Easy and low points for how much you get to eat (and protein!).

Ingredients:
1 lb (16 oz) Lite Firm Tofu
1/2-1 tbsp soy sauce
cooking spray

Weight Watchers points: 5 (for whole recipe)

Step 1: Place tofu on several layers of paper towel, top with more paper towels, and place one or more heavy objects on top. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes. This presses out all excess water from the tofu.
Step 2: Preheat oven to 450F. Cut tofu into 6 1/2-inch slices, then cut each slice into 8 cubes.
Step 3: Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Arrange tofu cubes on sheet so that the pieces don't touch.
Step 4: Brush each cube with soy sauce (you can do just the top or each exposed side).
Step 5: Spray light layer of cooking spray over tofu cubes.
Step 6: Place cookie sheet into over, bake for about 25 minutes.