Back In the Saddle

After the fiance being out of town for a few days last week and a weekend out of town together, we have officially gotten sick of eating out. It's fun every now and then. And when I'm by myself, I like to splurge on things the fiance doesn't like :) but it's so good to be home and to get the chance to cook.

We also had a chance to get back into a bit of a routine. Work, gym, cook, eat, fiance studies, I blog. What a night! We also had an interesting discussing with the new guy in the produce department of the supermarket about things being labeled properly...or in his case, improperly. I don't think he knew the difference between any of the veggies. We were on a hunt for okra, but ended up just having to go to another store for it. A supermarket in the south without okra is practically a sin I think.

So our first dinner at home was chicken, chickpeas and green beans!

It was almost 8pm by the time we came home so it was a pretty quick meal. We just grilled the chicken in the dark...and by we, I mean fiance because our yard in the dark scares me. I'm 25 and scared of the dark. I admit it. Don't judge.

The green beans were frozen that we defrosted with a little garlic gold and lemon juice on them.

And the star of dinner was definitely the chickpeas. It was super quick and easy to make too! I found the recipe from some cool vegan sisters who have some great recipes! We made it pretty similar with some small changes.

Spinach and Chickpea Delight

Ingredients:

• 2 (15.5-oz) cans, or 3 cups cooked, chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• EVOO (about 2 tbsp.)
• 4 large handfuls fresh, baby spinach (about 4 to 5 cups)
• 1/2 cup marinara or tomato sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 red onion, diced (only if there isn’t some in your sauce)
• sea salt 
• pepper
• Basil
• Oregano

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, combine EVOO, garlic and onion and saute until onion is softened
2. Add the marinara sauce, red wine vinegar and spinach, stiring continuously until spinach is wilted
3. Add chickpeas and stir until everything is evenly coated, adding in the sea salt, pepper, basil and oregano to taste.
4. Serve and enjoy!

We started out with the marinara sauce in before the onion was softened and the onion didn't get quite as soft and brown as we would have liked. We also didn't add the oregano and basil until the end. It wasn't in the original recipe but when we first tasted it, we though it could use a little more seasoning. We used Organic Ragu sauce and it was really great in the dish! Fiance said we should make more soon, so that's definitely a good sign! Thanks Katelyn and Rebecca for a great recipe!

and it's off to bed for this busy bee! another work day tomorrow, but atleast it's Wednesday!