Healthy Chickpea Salad

Spring is finally here so I thought I'd share one of my favourite salad recipes. It's healthy, delicious, and it just screams Spring (and Summer!). The original recipe is from allrecipes.ca but I have modified it and made it my own. 

The best part? It only takes 15 minutes to make!

Servings: 6

2          (19 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1          pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1          cucumber, cut into small chunks
2          tbsp. of basil
2          tbsp. of honey
3          gloves of garlic, minced
3          tbsp. of red wine vinegar
3          tbsp. of olive oil
½         tbsp. of pepper
¼         tbsp. of salt
Other fresh vegetables of your choice

Directions:

1.     In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, and basil. If you are adding any other vegetables you can add them here as well.

2.     Put honey in a small glass bowl; heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, black pepper, and salt with the honey to make a dressing; pour over the chickpea salad and toss to coat. 

Be careful when removing the honey from the microwave; it’s hot!

3.     Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for later use. This salad will keep for up to three days.

It's oh-so-delicious - I hope you enjoy!

Meal Planning & To-Do List Printables

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to get more organized in 2014. One way of that is creating a meal plan and to-do list. The meal plan seems to be working (kind of) well so far. It's a new process for our family so it's taking some time getting used to having an actual meal plan. This is especially true when we really don't feel like having what we planned to have! I should also point out, that we don't really make anything ahead of time, unless I'm making my freezer meals. So it will take some time to make it work 100%.


Our to-do list is going good though. We are typically using it for chores only. This is very helpful for my husband to see visually what should (and needs) to be done on any given day. It helps keep him on track and has allowed us to share the chores more equally between us.
I thought it would be a good idea to post them for you to use. I hope they work for you just as they are for us. I will likely add more printables as I put more systems in place so be sure to follow and check back often :)  

 

Chicken and Cauliflower Chili

Do you need an alternate to your regular chili? Well, then I found a recipe for you!

I'm a big ole' chili fan myself, but just the name of this chili was very intriguing to me so I decided to give it a try. Let me tell you - it did not disappoint! It is so good and has a nice little kick to it. I also found it to be a much lighter meal then regular chili, which is also a plus for me.

The recipe itself comes from Foodland Ontario. Foodland Ontario helps Ontarians (and others!) chose fresh, local grown produce, all while supporting local farmers and businesses. There website provides recipes, tips, food facts, and more.

The recipe itself was found in a small recipe booklet that I picked up in the produce section of my local grocery store. Free recipe books are the best, aren't they?

Let's get started.

Prep Time: 15 Mins, Cooking Time: 40 Minutes, Serves: 4 - 5

Ingredients:

2 tbsp	Vegetable or Canola Oil
1 lb	Boneless Skinless Chicken, cut in 1-inch cubes
2	Onions, chopped
3	Gloves Garlic, minced
1	Sweet Green Pepper, coarsely chopped
3 cups	Cauliflower Flourets
4 tsp	Chili Powder (or to taste) - I used 3
1 tsp	each ground cumin, dried oregano leaves and salt
1	can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes
1	can (19 oz/540 mL) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook chicken, onions and garlic until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add green pepper, cauliflower, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt; cook, stirring for 1 minute.

2. Add tomatoes and beans; bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. I actually made this later in the evening, so I packed a lunch for Doug and I, and then freezed the rest (I will post about freezer cooking a bit later).

Bon appetite!