Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas and Spinach

recipe from: http://www.cookrepublic.com/recipe-archive/moroccan-spice-chickpea-and-spinach/

Spice Mixture

Shown served with Quinoa

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped (jarred kind works fine)
2 small red chilis, seeded and finely chopped
4 tablespoons Moroccan Spice (see below)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water or low sodium vegetable broth
3 to 4 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
~30oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of half a lemon

Spice Mix (makes about 10 Tbsp so you could half it, or save the rest in an airtight container):
5 tablespoons ground cumin
5 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions:
First, mix together all of the spices.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and chili for about 5 minutes until soft. Add Moroccan spice. Mix well.
Add tomato paste. Cook for a minute. Add water until desired consistency is reached. Add the spinach and chickpeas. Cook, stirring occasionally until spinach has wilted (about 3 to 4 minutes). Remove from heat.
Stir in the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with coriander (optional).

Three Bean Salad

recipe from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/three_bean_salad/

INGREDIENTS
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper (any color)
1 cup (lightly packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 to 4 Tbsp granulated sugar, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (jarred)
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Chop bell pepper into very small pieces. Chop onion into small pieces, then add to a food processor and pulse until pieces are very small. In a large bowl, combine all of the beans with the pepper and onion.
In the bowl of a food processer, combine oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic and parsley. Pulse until mixed and parsley is finely chopped.
Add the dressing to the bean mixture and mix until coated. Chill beans in the refrigerator for several hours, to allow the beans to soak up the flavor of the dressing.

Healthy Vegan Chili

Recipe is from: http://86lemons.com/fat-melting-veggie-chili/

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2½ cups diced red onions
1 cup diced carrots
2 bell peppers, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced

1 (10 oz) bag frozen corn

2 Tbsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. chili powder
4 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeños
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 (14.5 oz) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
1 (15 oz) black beans
1 (15 oz) can Adzuki beans (I used white northern beans instead)
2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
3 Tbsp. tomato paste

optional:
1 to 2 cups vegetable  broth or vegetable juice (You can also just use water.)


Directions:
STEP 1
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, warm the oil and sauté the onions, carrots, peppers, and sweet potatoes, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.

STEP 2
Stir in the cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic and jalapeño and cook a few more minutes until fragrant.

STEP 3
Add the tomatoes, beans, oregano, chipotle in adobo, tomato paste and cinnamon. At this point, you can add a little vegetable broth, vegetable juice or water if you like your chili a bit thinner.

STEP 4
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stir in the corn; cook 5 more minutes, until corn is heated through. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Roasted Chickpeas

Recipe adapted from: http://www.fitsugar.com/Roasted-Garbanzo-Beans-Chickpeas-Recipe-9136958

These are really good and really easy to make for a snack. The recipe is for 1 15 oz can of chickpeas but you could get the larger can and easily double it.

Ingredients:
1 can (~15 oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp other spice mixture

What I used for the spice mixture: 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp curry masala spice mix, and a few strong shakes of cayenne pepper

(I'll update this as I try new spices)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat the chickpeas dry with a paper towel - if they are too wet, they won't get crunchy in the oven. In a bowl, mix chickpeas with oil, salt and spice mixture. Mix to coat well. Pour chickpeas onto a roasting dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Be sure to shake the pan occasionally so they do not stick.

Any smaller chickpeas should be very crunchy. Slightly larger ones may not be as crunchy, but they are very good anyway.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

adapted from:  http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/01/06/roasted-red-pepper-hummus/

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 (14 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon) (or add roasted garlic)
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons juice from 1 to 2 lemons

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini and 2 tablespoons olive oil. In the bowl of a food processor, process chickpeas, roasted red peppers, garlic, salt, cumin and cayenne until the mixture is almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl. With the food processor running, add the lemon juice through the feed tube in a steady stream. Scrape down the bowl and process for 1 minute. With the machine running, add the oil-tahini mixture through the feed tube in a steady stream. Scrape down the bowl and continue to process until the hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds.
Transfer hummus to a serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Top with olive oil and some diced roasted red pepper for garnish.

Yields: 2 cups