Spinach, Mushroom, and Feta Muffin Frittatas

Three of my current obsessions include food in muffin form, feta cheese, and dishes that are quick and easy to make.  Making anything in the form of a “muffin” automatically makes it more fun to eat, feta cheese adds a delicious bite to almost anything, and lately, I just don’t have the time or energy to cook elaborate meals.

Breakfast for dinner is pretty much the best lazy girl’s way of cooking and eating a healthy, filling, and varied meal.  And these spinach, mushroom and feta frittatas are clearly a manifestation of my three current obsessions.

The inspiration for these came from Pinterest- yet another recent obsession.  I think I officially have an obsessive personality.  That’s ok- there are worse things to be addicted to than Pinterest and feta cheese, right!?

These frittatas are so simple to make.  The feta/spinach/mushroom combo was fabulous, but so many other mix-ins could work as well.  Sun dried tomato and feta or broccoli and cheddar cheese would be great twists.

Spinach, Mushroom, and Feta Muffin Frittatas

Yield: 9-10 muffins

Adapted from: The Manila Spoon’s Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Package (8 oz) baby bella mushrooms, finely diced
• 1 Package (5 oz) baby spinach
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 4 Lage eggs
• 1-2 TBS olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Clean mushrooms by wiping them with a damp paper towel, then finely dice them.

3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat and add mushrooms.  Cook mushrooms for about 5-6 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.

4.  In the same skillet the mushrooms were in, add the spinach and a few TBS of water.  Allow the spinach to wilt over medium/low heat for a minutes until it is all shriveled an wilted.

5.  Remove spinach from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Then, gently blot spinach with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

6.  In a large bowel, whisk the eggs, then add the mushrooms (not including any liquid they released during cooking), feta cheese, and spinach.  Stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Spoon mixture into a non-greased muffin tray.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool in tin for a few minutes, then enjoy :)

These stay  fresh for a few days wrapped and refrigerated, so they also make the perfect grab-and-heat breakfast or light snack.  A weeknight meal that is easy, fun, and healthy?  Yes, please!

What are your favorite ways to enjoy breakfast for dinner?

What are your favorite foods to make in fun forms?

Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins- Thank You Sally!

Ok: Apparently I have been living under a rock for the past year or so, but I recently discovered two websites that I am pretty much now obsessed with.  Those would be Pinterest and Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Just to clear things up, it’s not that I hadn’t heard of Pinterest, I just didn’t explore it or understand what it’s purpose was exactly.  Maybe I really am getting old, but between blogs, facebook, twitter, and instagram, I didn’t really want to sit and learn how to use another form of social media.

I guess my secret is out, I am obviously 80 years old.

Anyways, I am now not only on Pinterest but constantly on Pinterest.  The website has already inspired two of my meals for later this week, so stay tuned.

Now let’s talk about Sally.  Have you guys visited her blog, Sally’s Baking Addiction?  Holy cow.  Sprinkles, cookies, cupcakes, muffins galore.  Honestly, I don’t even like to bake.  I have always preferred cooking over baking because I feel I am better able to create something unique that I cannot simply purchase by cooking instead of baking. Also, I have always felt it is rather easy to tweak meals and make them healthier but that is much harder to do with baking.  Well, Sally and her blog have pretty much inspired me to bake (or in better terms, follow her recipes step by step).

Ironically, I stumbled upon Sally’s blog during the peak of my “trying to eat super healthy for vacation” phase.  However, while perusing her blog, I noticed one of her most recent posts for ‘skinny double chocolate chip muffins’.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Now, normally I am just as skeptical of ‘skinny’ desserts as the next woman, but for some reason I trusted Sally.  Her plethora of drool-worthy photography and shared love of sprinkles made me think she knew what she was doing.  So, I ventured into the baking world with these delicious, gooey, healthy muffins.

Sally’s Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction                         Yield: 12 delicious muffins

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large egg whites (or 1 large egg)
• 3/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, plain or vanilla)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, plus a few more for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray. Do not use liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, honey, egg whites, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk them all together until smooth, with no yogurt lumps remaining.
3. Sift* the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Get any dry pockets of flour out. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. The batter will be a little chunky. This is ok.
4. Divide the batter evenly amount 12 liners – fill them all the way to the top if you can. Bake for 5 minutes at 425F. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the temperature down to 375 and continue to bake for 13 more minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. If it comes out clean, they are done. If not, bake for only 2 more minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Verdict?

I absolutely loved these muffins.  I thought they were chocolatey, gooey, moist, and flavorful.  In my opinion, they don’t taste like anything has been sacrificed in making them lighter.  In fact, I have been craving a muffin for about two months now, and I can honestly say that these satisfied that craving.

But….

I must mention that my boyfriend, for whatever credit this may hold, was not a fan of these muffins.  He doesn’t know why.  He can’t explain it.  He simply felt that there was a taste of sorts he didn’t like.  Luckily, these freeze well.  More for me.

I strongly recommend making these muffins.  They are delicious, health(ier), and super easy to make.  Some fun twists could be using peanut butter chocolate chips instead, or mixing some strawberries in the batter.

Do you guys prefer baking “healthier” recipes or do you subscribe to the notion that baking is meant to be pure fattening deliciousness?  

What are your favorite things to bake?

Do you prefer cooking, baking, or are you awesome at both?

Garlic and Herb Pasta with Chicken, Shallots, Tomatoes, and Feta Cheese

Last weekend I stumbled upon a cute little farmers market in my area.  One of the vendors was called Pappardelle, who specializes in homemade pasta.  They sell pasta in all different flavors; ranging from chive and lemon to sun-dried tomato.  We picked up a simple ‘garlic and herb’ linguine, and have been anxious to try it out ever since.

Aren’t the hooks so cute!?

It was hard for me to find a true “recipe” to use this pasta in because the pasta already has so many flavors- garlic, thyme, rosemary- in it.  So, I actually did something I rarely do and made my own concoction.  I am obsessed with onions and cherry tomatoes, and the Liberty on Less blog inspired me to add feta cheese.  Really, how can you ever go wrong by adding cheese?

I heated minced shallot and ginormous, plump cherry tomatoes in a little EVOO on low heat for about 15 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes were just about to burst.

Thank you Fresh Market for these beauties.

As that was heating, I boiled the pasta and grilled some chicken breasts seasoned with rosemary and crushed black pepper.  I then topped the pasta with the warm tomato mixture, grilled chicken, and sprinkled in some a ton of feta cheese.  I actually meant to drizzle some more olive oil on the finished product but forgot to.

The verdict?

Eh.

I was very pleased with the flavor combination of chicken/tomatoes/feta/shallots, and my improvisation of ingredients.  Yay me.

However, I was very unimpressed with the pasta.  I’m sorry but $5-$6 for 8.oz of pasta is insane as it is, but this “flavored” pasta was BLAND!  I was so really hoping that this pasta would be a farmers market “gem” of mine, but it definitely was not.  I certainly would not recommend this pasta, or at least this flavor, to anybody.  Bummer.

2 morals to this story:

1. Save your bucks for uber fresh produce at Farmers Markets and stick to good ol’ supermarket pasta.

2.  Feta and tomatoes are amazing together,and make any meal better.

Disclaimer: I booked two (yes two!) vacations last night, both in the month of May.  Translation: time to get in shape!  So, don’t be surprised if the food featured on here gets kicked up a notch on the health scale.  (Even though I try to be healthy anyways)

I hope everyone is having a great week and your meals are turning out a bit more satisfying than mine.

xx

Food Fail: Mustard Herb Salmon Gone Wrong

Hello again blog peeps.

I am saddened to report that tonight was a night of failures; on both the food and fitness front.  For now, let’s discuss food failures.

Inspired by awesome success with last weeks dijon crusted halibut, I decided to try a new salmon recipe for once.  I turned to my super reliable and trusty friend Giada de Laurentiis who rarely lets me down, and chose her herb and mustard broiled salmon.

This was the first time I used my broiler in this particular oven, and I have a feeling that it wasn’t fully heated when I put the salmon in.  The result was that the top of the salmon cooked way faster than the rest; the top was already cooked while the middle was still raw.  Ultimately, the salmon turned out EXTREMELY dried out, right down to the mustardy spread on top.  The mustard practically browned in the same way cheese would while baking in the oven (good for pizza, not for fish).  In all fairness, the actual flavor of the topping was very good.

Random side note: how in the world is one supposed to chop fresh thyme without the sprigs getting in the way?  The thyme was not like rosemary where the herbs just fell right off.  This step was beyond frustrating for an already doomed meal.

To make matters even worse, I made this with lemon green beans and shallots (idea from Two Peas & Their Pod blog).  Seriously, this side includes three ingredients- how did I screw this up?  I’ll tell you how:  I used the amount of lemon called for in cooking the whole recipe even though I reduced the serving size drastically.  The result was overly lemony, under shallot-ed green beans.  Fail.

The best part of this meal was contributed by good ol’ Uncle Ben.  Seriously, Uncle Bens instant brown rice and quiona mix with garlic is very tasty.  I highly recommed it for a healthy grain dish in a pinch.

And that is the sad truth- the best I can offer you from this meal is a thumbs up to Uncle Ben’s brown rice and quinoa mix.

Giada’s salmon may be worth a shot if you are confident in your broilers ability to work.  After tonight’s experience though, I think I will stick to grilling and baking my salmon instead.  While the mustard sauce was really good, it didn’t measure up to the simple blackening mix I usually use, which happens to be way less complicated.

Tonights adventures were a disappointment on all fronts.  I am sure the problem rests with me and/or my appliances so if any of you try out these recipes and have success, please let me know!

Since this post is filled with enough negativity already, I will save my rant about what happens when you try out a new workout and hate it for another day.  Also, to lighten up the mood a little, I have included a picture of my incredibly cute dog, Macy.  I always say she looks like a little burrito when she’s nestled in my covers like this, so technically she does belong in a blog post about food :)

The Best Porcini Mushroom Risotto, Period.

I am breaking one of my own rules, and I don’t care.

I have always said I would not claim something as “the best I ever ate” if I had not tried enough of a particular food to compare.

Scratch that.  For now, at least.

This past week, I had the opportunity to try a local Italian restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, Casa D’ Angelo.  I have wanted to try this place for a while now, but it is pretty pricey and shocking, not in my current budget.  What do you do when you really want to try a restaurant and can’t afford it?  You wait for your family to take you there.

I had family visiting from NY who suggested we all go to Casa D’ Angelo for dinner.  That’s right, I didn’t even have to debate internally whether it was rude of me to pick such an expensive restaurant because they picked it themselves.  Amazing.  The food here was so good and so authentic Italian, as judged by my relatives from Italy, that we ended up going back AGAIN before they left.  I seriously hit the food lottery that week.

One of the main persuasive forces of returning a second time was this risotto.

Mushroom Risotto at Casa de Angelo

I ordered it on a whim as an appetizer for my boyfriend and I because I have never had a truly authentic risotto, and I certainly don’t have the time or willingness to add 5 sticks of butter to make this on my own.  I don’t care that I have not tried other risottos, and I don’t care that this is one of the least photogenic dishes ever- this risotto was pure heaven.  The truffle oil and porcini mushrooms added just the right amount of flavor on top of the divine creaminess of the cheese and other goodness in here.  The rice itself was perfectly al dente.  My hard to impossible to please Italian grandmother raved about this risotto.  This was seriously one of my favorite appetizers from a restaurant ever.  You can also order it as an entree, but I think the appetizer portion was plenty satisfying.

If you are ever in Ft. Lauderdale and looking for the best Italian food, go to Casa D’Angelo.  Order this risotto whether or not it is on the menu that day.  Somehow.

Every other part of my dining experience was delicious and blog-worthy as well.

I ordered the linguine positano as my entree, which is linguine with shrimp sauteed in white wine, with garlic, fresh tomato, and arugula.  I thought this dish was phenomenal- fresh, simple yet flavorful, and filling.  The shrimp were a bit on the firm side, but I suppose that is better than overly cooked, rubbery shrimp.

So, my recommendations to you all:  1. Plan a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, if you don’t live nearby.  2. Invite family to cover the bill (joking, kind of.) 3. Demand to try the mushroom risotto. 4. Order anything else as an entree 5. Drink wine to enhance good time and better tolerate family and 6. Pass out in food coma.

Dijon Crusted Baked Halibut

Hello blog peeps- I am officially back to a semi-normal routine and finally had the time to cook up a healthy, tasty meal tonight.

Because it has been a while since I tried a new recipe, I figured I would come back in full force and try something a bit out of my comfort zone.  Fish is one of those things that I am gradually developing quite a taste for, but am still reluctant at trying new types.  My taste buds have mastered salmon (especially my yummy blackened salmon) and tried grouper and chilean sea bass while dining out, but I am not quick to try new fish recipes at home.  I mean, is anything less satisfying after a long day than a bland, fishy, expensive piece of fish?  Well, tonight was time to execute one of my foodie resolutions in trying new things.

I made a dijon crusted baked halibut that I am happy to report turned out quite tasty!  I adapted the recipe from this Taste of Home Recipe by tweaking it just a little.  I decided to use halibut instead of tilapia because 1) fresh, wild halibut is on sale this week at Whole Foods (score!), and 2) I had never tried halibut before.

I know I mention on here rather frequently whether or not my boyfriend liked a dish, but that is because he is a picky eater when it comes to healthy food.  So, I feel a recipe is uber-legitimate and totally worth sharing with you guys when he likes it.  And such was the case tonight :)

Dijon Crusted Baked Halibut

Adapted from this Taste of Home Recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 2/3 lb halibut (or fish of your choice)
• 2 tablespoons reduced fat mayo (can sub with all or some greek yogurt)
• 1.5 TBS parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp horseradish
• 1 tsp butter, melted
• 2 TBS breadcrumbs
• 1.5 tsp dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a smal bowl, combine the mayo (or greek yogurt), 1 TBS parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and dijon mustard.
3. Place fish on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and coated with cooking spray, skin side down.  Spread mayo mixture liberally on top of fish, saving any extra to use as a dipping sauce.
4. In another small bowel, combine breadcrumbs, remaining 1/2 TBS parmesan cheese, and the melted butter.  Mix well.
5. Top of the fish with the breadcrumb/cheese/butter topping.
6. Bake in the oven for about 13-17 minutes, checking at 13 minutes, until fish is flaky in the center.

We were pleasantly surprised at how good and EASY this recipe was.  I served it with frozen steamed broccoli (yawn), but tons of side dishes would accompany this perfectly.

The only thing I noticed was that because halibut (or perhaps just this piece) is such a thick piece of fish, we didn’t get a yummy dijon flavor in every bite, especially towards the center.  Luckily halibut is a very taste neutral fish, so it was more not flavorful as opposed to bad.  My solution to this for next time: reserve the extra mayo mixture to use as a dipping sauce.  If I had known this, I definitely would have saved my extra instead of tossing it down the drain in an attempt to be ahead of the clean up game.  Topping that reserved mixture with fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley, could be beyond delicious.

The next time you are looking for a healthy, delicious, out-of-the-box seafood recipe, definitely give this a try!

What is your favorite type of fish to cook?  What fish have you always wanted to try to make at home?

Healthy Pear-Streusel Coffee Cake

It has been a long time since I blogged about food, and an even longer time since I blogged about food I actually made and didn’t just purchase.  This saddens me.  But, such is the tragic story of a busy grad student.

All of the credit for this recipe goes to Holly at Everyday’s a Hollyday.  Fun side note: Holly is a best friend of one of my best friends, but we have never actually met!  But, through my friend Lea, and through Holly’s amazing blog, I know I would love her.  She posted this recipe for pear-streusel coffee cake a while back, and I knew I had to make it.  A recipe for a coffee cake that involves pear and Chobani yogurt?! I was hooked.  I honestly made no changes to the recipe, so simply click the link to see the recipe.

This coffee cake is delicious, easy to make, and guess what- healthy!  There is no butter involved, instead the recipe uses greek yogurt.  This is the perfect “treat” for breakfast, snack, or a dessert (ok so really any time).  The recipe makes plenty to last a few people all week.  Ok, that is assuming you have a little self control and don’t eat three squares at once, which may be difficult.

My boyfriend was extremely skeptical of this because 1) he does not trust dessert made with no butter and 2) he does not like pear or greek yogurt that much…… OR SO HE THOUGHT.  He loved it.

The pear version was fantastic, but I think it would be so much fun and easy to play with the flavors, and I think next time I will try apple, using the apple-cinnamon  Chobani yogurt with cut up apple.  Either way, this coffee cake is just the right amount of sweet, moist, and does not sacrifice the delicious streusel topping in becoming health-ified.

Baking in a healthy way is something that scares me because although I know it can certainly be done, I feel one is at a higher risk for a dessert dud.  It is one thing for me to screw up dinner, but that is unacceptable for dessert!  But, as mentioned, this coffee cake was a total success and I highly recommend giving it a try.

It feels so great to blog again after being MIA for a while.  I have two exciting blog posts for this week, one of which involves an awesome farmers market find and another that involves something so delicious, it will be added to the “Best Thing I Ever Ate” page.

Until then, make this coffee cake.

Life moves pretty fast….

Within a time span of seven days, from February 27-March 6 to be exact, so many parts of my life began to fall into place.  It’s crazy how everything exciting in life seems to happen all at once.  This week has been an absolute whirlwind.  I have been dying to blog about all of the exciting and scary changes ahead, both to share and to to have a moment of reflection for myself.

February 27: We took home this little bundle of joy.

Macy

Her name is Macy- Macy Mae to be be exact.  We had been talking about adopting a dog for the longest time now, but we never felt 100% ready for the added responsibility.  Then, it hit us.  We will never be 100% ready!  Life is always crazy and always busy and we are never going to want to walk a dog at 6am.  But, as any dog owner will tell you, the payoff is so worth it.  We finally just took the leap and did it.  We said ‘yes’ to the dog.  I would be lying if I didn’t mention the insane anxiety that the added responsibility gave us at first, but a little over a week in, we have fell into a routine and love her to death.

Obligatory rant:

Please, please, please if you are thinking about getting a dog, ADOPT!  The Humane Society and Rescue groups are loaded with the sweetest, kindest, friendliest, healthiest dogs of ALL ages and ALL breeds.  You can be placed on a list for a certain breed or seek out breed-specific rescues in your state, if you have a breed preference.  Of course, I’m partial to mutts, but to each is own :)  Not only are you adopting a family member for life, but it opens up a spot for another precious dog to come in from a kill-shelter or owner surrender.  I am so passionate about this, I could go on forever.  But, I’ll leave it at this: don’t shop, adopt!

March 1:  Celebrated Ryan’s 26th birthday

It is so crazy to admit, be we are getting old!  My man is in his last year of his ‘mid twenties’.  We went out to a nice dinner at J. Alexanders on Friday and celebrated out with friends on Saturday.  We really enjoyed the food at J. Alexanders, but I have to admit that I am partial to Houston’s [for that price range and cuisine].

Celebratory Drinks

Grilled Artichokes

Mac and Cheese

Salmon

The grilled artichokes were delicious!  The foodie in me is embarrassed to admit, however, that I have no clue how much of an artichoke to eat.  Oops.  The ‘not your ordinary’ mac and cheese was also delicious, but practically swimming in the cream and cheese.  I felt as though I were eating cream with macaroni in it.  Two bites was plenty.  My salmon was very good, served with a dill sauce on the side.  However, I have had better salmon at a restaurant [Bonefish Grill and Season’s 52 to name a few].  Either way, it was a lot of fun to have a reason to try a new restaurant.  Happy Birthday Ryan! … (Let’s see if he actually reads this)

March 1:  Signed up to run my first 10k

True story: I talk about “goals” and things I want to accomplish, but then, surprise, life gets too busy and it doesn’t happen.  Case in point: run a 10k.

Funny story:  I decided, after a particularly unproductive and difficult gym session, that it was time to 1) get back in shape, and 2) accomplish this frickin goal.  So, I came upstairs, and in the heat of the moment, signed up for the 1st 10k that takes place on a Sunday in my area (because I work on Saturdays).  I didn’t care about the cause, I simply wanted to cross this item off of my bucket list and have a reason to push my butt to run every week.

So, I am now signed up to run the “Gumbo Lumbo Green Turtle Gallop” on April 7.  Yes, I am running 6.2 miles for sea turtle conservation, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Sometimes, you have to stop talking about things you want to do, and just do it!

March 6: Official Job Offer!!!

I was officially offered a full time pharmacist position post-graduation.  And the kicker?  It is located right where I live.  Those of you who aren’t currently on the hunt for full time, well paying, post-grad school jobs in desirable/saturated areas may not fully understand, but this is huge!  I finally feel as though my hard work is paying off and I am getting what I deserve.  I can officially say I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is bright!

Honestly, I have been through some rough patches these past few years, and it feels pretty amazing to feel all of these good changes on the horizon.  It is not always easy to “just stay positive”or “just keep pushing on”, and many times I wanted to seriously punch people in the face for uttering those phrases to me.  But, life really does move in cycles, and things really do get better.  And sometimes, good things do happen to good people.

So many of our days are spent wishing more exciting things were happening or yearning for x amount of days/weeks/months to pass.  Then, when we finally arrive at that accomplishment/goal/vacation/ending we want so bad, it all happens so quickly, that we don’t even appreciate it as it’s unfolding.

This week was splendid and eye-opening for me, and I want to cherish this feeling of happiness, gratefulness, and uninterrupted joy.  I want to forget about my anxieties and fears of all the added responsibilities ahead of me, and just savor this feeling.

Because really, life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around one in a while, you might miss it.-Ferris Bueller.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Sometimes, trying new recipes can be exhausting.  Sometimes, after a tedious, never-ending day of work and chores, you just want to come home and cook something reliable. Something that you know will turn out delicious and requires minimal work.

Those are totally the kind of days weeks I’ve been having.  This white bean chicken chili is one of our all time favorite recipes for a few years now.  It is filling, healthy, oh-so-tasty, makes enough for about 6-7 meals, inexpensive, and not terribly time consuming.  This chili is essentially the ‘total package’ of dinners.

I found it a few years ago on AllRecipes, and have adapted it over time based on personal tastes and reviewers suggestions.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Adapted from this AllRecipes recipe (I promise my changes are better- they have been years and 30 batches in the making)

You Will Need:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
• 1 large can salsa verde
• 2 (16 oz) cans diced tomatoes (fire roasted or basil flavors are great)
• 2 (15 oz) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 lb shredded cooked chicken meat (rotisserie saves time, not money)
• 1/2 large bag of frozen corn
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• pinch of salt and pepper
• crunchy bread to serve along side is “optional”

Directions

1. Heat oil on medium-high heat, and cook onion and garlic until soft
2. Stir in broth, salsa verde, diced tomatoes, and spices.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 10 minutes
4. Add corn, chicken, and beans, and simmer for as long as possible to allow flavors to come together (20 minutes or more ideal)

This chili is SO good and very filling as well.  Despite how filling it is, I always go back for seconds.  And you will too.  Trust me.

So much has happened this week, I cannot wait to blog about it all.  Many exciting and scary changes ahead.  But for now… chili.

Skeptical and Surprised: Chickpea Curry

You know those recipes that you are so skeptical of as you are cooking it because something just doesn’t look right?  Why is the food that color?  What is that smell?  I’m really supposed to add that much red pepper flakes?

Those types of meals are often anxiety inducing because many times, they can very well turn out to be duds.  But sometimes, everything ends up coming together perfectly and all your doubts wash away.  (Very similar to other things in life, actually!)

I was SO skeptical of this recipe right up until the time I took my first bite.  Honestly, it did not look that good, and I was certain I was going to be disappointed.  Well, I was totally wrong!

Quick Chickpea Curry

My meatless monday recipe this week came from a completely random post I read on my WordPress Reader as I was browsing the food tag.  What caught my eye was the bloggers comment that even her boyfriend said ‘yum’.  And no joke, my boyfriend said the same thing when he ate it.

It is a Martha Stewart recipe for a chickpea curry, and man was it delicious.  I really wanted to share this insanely easy, cheap, and delicious recipe with you guys.

Quick Chickpea Curry

Adapted from this Martha Stewart Recipe

Yields: 4

You will Need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Lemon wedges for serving

Directions:

1.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 6-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, curry, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the chickpeas, ketchup, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and 2 cups of water.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for about 20 minutes.
6. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 5-8 minutes.
7. For best results, refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to come together.  *Do not drain any excess liquid, despite how much you may have.  This will reduce during storage and provide a great flavored sauce that is necessary.
8. Reheat, and right before eating, drizzle some fresh lemon juice and stir well.

I had this chickpea curry mixed with brown rice for a complete, healthy meal.  It would also be great in a warm pita!  Or, simply served by itself  as a light meal or side dish.

Do not, and I repeat do not, skip the fresh lemon at the end.  I forgot this part during one plate of leftovers and I completely tasted the difference!

Now, go enjoy this recipe.  With the money you save on ingredients and the calories you save on your waistline, you are entitled to a nice fancy dessert ;)