Quickie Dinner- Spiced Chickpeas with Quinoa

In our house, spring cleaning kind of happens whenever we find ourselves with some free time. Sweeping under the fridge or dusting the (horrific) vinyl wallpaper in our living room just kind of get done when they get done. This year, we decided to extend the spirit of spring renewal into our cabinets, as well. 

We got rid of a ton of expired food when we reorganized our cabinets, but there is a way to go until we have used all of the good stuff that is stuffed in our pantry. Lots of canned and dry goods, lots of half-full bags of pasta. Here is our meal plan for the week which will (hopefully) use up quite a bit of our stash. 

Cumin Spiced Chickpeas

Inspired by The Minimalist

1 onion, chopped (we used red)

1 1-inch piece of peeled ginger, grated

1 tbsp. toasted, whole cumin seeds, ground

1 lemon, juiced

2 tbsp. olive or safflower oil

3 c. chopped veggies (use what you have around- we had carrots, peppers, snow peas, broccoli)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

In a dry pan, toast the cumin seed for a few seconds (until fragrant). 

Grind with a mortar and pestle or coffee/spice grinder. 

Combine cumin, oil, lemon juice, ginger, salt and pepper.

 Add chickpeas, onion and veggies to a large bowl and combine with dressing.

 Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. Serve with quinoa or whole wheat cous-cous.

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