Chock Full of Chickpeas

I'm always looking for new recipe ideas for our family. I get stuck in "food ruts" and make the same meals over and over and over again.

A few months ago I came across a section of the Martha Stewart website that offered inexpensive meals. There are some really great ideas for meals on the site. Some were so weird that I knew my family wouldn't even try them. But one caught my eye. It was a chickpea pasta recipe.

Obviously that is the Martha Stewart version. Mine never turns out quite so "pretty" but it certainly is tasty. I was worried the kids wouldn't eat it, but they seem to enjoy it. Plus I call them chickpeas and not "garbonzo beans" and I think that helps. It's all in the spin, you know. I alter the recipe a bit to our tastes and once, when I ran out of broth, made it with water instead and no one was the wiser. I seriously couldn't tell a taste difference. The grand total for this meal is about $4...and it feeds our family of five for two nights!

Fruit Smoothies

It's hot, no doubt about that. And when it's this hot, I can think of no better way to start the day than with a breakfast smoothie. We found this recipe a few years ago and break it out each year when the mercury starts rising. It goes great with some toast or a bagel and can be easily poured into a travel mug to drink during a hectic morning.

The recipe below is for one serving, so for the two of us, we typically double all the ingredients.

1/2 cup milk
1/2 plain yogurt
1 cup frozen blueberries (we also like to alternate with raspberries)
1 tsp. honey

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth!

Cool Whip Pie

Warmer weather is finally here. So it's as good a time as any to break out the Cool Whip Pie. It's super easy and is the perfect way to end a meal.


Here's the recipe. It calls for strawberry Jell-O, but you can use any flavor you like, including lime if you want that Key Lime Pie feel without all the hard work. Not that I would bastardize Ky Lime Pie in such a way....but I'm just saying it's a choice. We really like using raspberry Jell-O.

Ingredients
2/3 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

Ice cubes

1/2 cup cold water

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz.)

Instructions

Add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to make 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Whisk in COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 20 to 30 min. or until mixture is very thick and will mound. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 6 hours or until firm. Top with sliced berries..or not. Whatever floats your boat.

The pie comes out light and fluffy. My favorite part is that is doesn't use the oven which is always a good thing in hot weather. This most recent pie I made used generic Cool Whip, Crust and gelatin. I couldn't taste the difference at all, but my wallet sure noticed!

Bunches of BBQ

Sunday night I had Sarah over for some BBQ and to watch the Super Bowl. She brought wine and banana pudding. Best. Dinner. Guest. Ever. Anyway, I thought I'd share my BBQ recipe because it is incredibly easy and very good. Dad had some last fall and really loved it. He's sort of a BBQ connoisseur so when I got his seal of approval, I knew I had achieved BBQ perfection.


Here's a shopping list for the BBQ:
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
1/2 ketchup (See why I like this recipe? It has ketchup!!!)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 McCormick BBQ pulled pork seasoning packet



Place the pork in the bottom of the Cock Pot. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the meat. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.The recipe calls for 8 hours on low, but I think it is more tender after at least 9 hours in the Crock Pot. Shred with a fork and serve.

That's it. It's easy and incredibly tasty. It has a good kick to it without being too spicy. It makes a ton of BBQ. We're having it again tonight and I can already hear the complaints from the youngest Lamars. Perhaps I can sweeten the deal with some chocolate chip cookies.

Making good (food) on a resolution

In 2010 I have decided to try at least one new recipe every month. The new year is only three days old but I decided to jump in with both feet. Back in October Mom and I were watching the Food Network and saw Giada prepare a quick and easy Spicy Tomato Soup. I'm not really that adventurous when it comes to cooking so I had been putting off preparing this new dish.

Tonight I bit the bullet (or soup ladle as it were) and made the soup. I tweaked it slightly, taking into account our family's tastes and it turned out beautifully. Not as beautiful as Giada's but certainly as tasty. It's very easy to make and was ready in under 30 minutes. I served it with a fresh loaf of Italian multi-grain bread. Even the girls liked it! No mealtime battles tonight, just a good family meal.

Fortunately we made enough to have a serving each for tomorrow's lunch!

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Back when I worked for Style we did a live holiday show every year. It was always on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at Fantasy of Trees. It included a tour of the event as well as Christmas carols and recipes for the holiday season. A few years back one of our guests shared a recipe for Oatmeal Carmelitas. I made them that December and immediately fell in love. They are delicious and combine two of my favorite ingredients: caramel and chocolate. I made a batch last week and am embarrassed to say we ate the entire 13x9 pan in about three days. I have the ingredients for one more pan and I think I'll save those for New Year's Eve. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Crust

2 cups plain flour

2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cup butter, softened (that's right....two and a half sticks!!!!!)

Filling

1 cup caramel ice cream topping

3 tbsp. flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Heat over to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 pan. In a large bowl, blend all crust ingredients at a low speed until crumbly. Press half of the crumb mixture (about three cups) in bottom of greased pan. Reserve remaining crumb mixture for topping. Bake for 10 minutes.

In small bowl combine caramel topping and 3 tbsp. flour, set aside. Sprinkle warm crust with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumble topping. Return to ove and bake for an additional 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, refrigerate 1-2 hours until filling is set. Cut into bars.