Chickpea Salad With Apples and Pecans

Chickpea Salad With Apples and Pecans

Chickpea Salad With Apples and Pecans 2

Chickpea, oh chickpea, how do I love thee……..let me count the ways……..

I eat chickpeas everyday, and no, I am not exaggerating. At the High School in my School District, we have a very large ala carte line with lots of great food items. We also have a rocking salad bar, on which we have chickpeas….a.k.a. garbanzo beans. I have a salad daily and I load on the chickpeas.

Chickpeas are a great source of protein (good for vegetarians), loaded with fiber, contains vitamins and minerals and significantly boosts your intake of manganese and folate. So kinda the Superman of Beans !!

Chickpea Salad With Apples and Pecans 1

Making a salad with them seemed like the natural thing to do. I made a kinda tuna salad from them. Mashed up the chickpeas, added shallots, celery, dill, and for extra crunch and yummy flavor, some crisp apples, and toasted pecans. Just add lemon juice and a touch of relish and you have a chickpeas salad that will rival a tuna salad any day of the week!

Chickpea Salad With Apples and Pecans

I wrapped mine in lettuce leaves, but it would be awesome on toasted whole grain bread, or stuffed inside a pita.

So, next time you want a light, refreshing, and crunchy salad……try making Chickpeas Salad with Apple and Pecans. Perfect for you vegetarians or if you want to try a meatless Monday!!

Chickpea Salad with Apples and Pecans Collage

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Chickpea Salad With Apples and Pecans

  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzos beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 apple, cored and chopped
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons dill relish
  • 1 large shallot
  • juice of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Pulse the garbanzo beans in the bowl of a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped.
  2. Transfer to a medium bowl and add apple, celery, pecans, relish, shallot, dill, lemon juice, and celery seeds.
  3. Stir until well combined. Season with pepper and chill until ready to serve. Wrap in lettuce leaves or serve on toasted bread or stuffed in a pita.

 

Tim’s Pinto Bean Pork Dip

Tim’s Pinto Bean Pork Dip

Tim's Pinto Bean Pork Dip 3

We snack a lot for dinner. With both of us working, by the time we get home, do the things that need to be done, dinner is an after thought. I know, you all think we eat food like we have on the blog all week long………not so!

We have popcorn frequently, or frozen pizza, but recently bean dip has been our go-to snack dinner. Tim LOVES beans, he would eat them every day! I like beans, but a girl can only handle so much fiber.

Tim's Pinto Pork Dip

Tim has been experimenting with a dip and it is ready to share with you. There is a local restaurant that we have mentioned before called Kelly’s. The Irish Mexican place that is a favorite of anyone local. If you are ever in the Sterling-Rock Falls, Illinois area look it up and stop by…..you won’t be sorry.

The Kelly’s bean dip a.k.a. Uncle Lou’s Dip is hmm, hmm, hmm, with the homemade tortilla chips. This Uncle Lou’s was the inspiration for Tim’s dip.

Tim's Pinto Bean Pork Dip 1

Pinto beans are simmered with salsa, chilies, garlic salt, cumin, chipotle and Sriracha. Browned pork tenderloin is added and the simmering continues until you have a creamy, spicy, porky, dip. Perfect for tortilla chips. Add shredded cheese and cilantro……..it’s snack supper!

You can also use the dip as the filling for burritos ………its Tim’s preferred way……I on the other hand am a chips kinda girl. Either way…..it’s hmm, hmm, hmm!!!!

Tim's Pinto Bean Pork Dip Collage

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Tim’s Pinto Bean Pork Dip

  • Author: Tim Boyd

Ingredients

Scale
  • 215 ounce cans pinto beans, do not drain
  • 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into small cubes
  • non stick cooking spray
  • 17.76 ounces can Homestyle Mexican Salsa
  • 14ounce can diced green chilies
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
  • Shredded cheese and cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a large sauce pan over medium low heat, cook beans and their liquid until heated trough.
  2. Mash beans with a fork or potato masher, leaving slightly chunky.
  3. Add salsa, chilies, garlic salt, cumin, chipotle powder, and Sriracha. Simmer for 10 minutes. While beans are simmering, spray a large skillet with non stick spray. Heat over medium high heat until pan is hot . Add diced pork . Sauté until pork is cooked through and browned.
  4. Add pork to the beans mixture, stir to combine.
  5. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from heat. Place in serving bowl. Garnish with cheese and cilantro if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Chorizo Verde Tostadas

Chorizo Verde Tostadas

Verde Tostada

When we originally planned this recipe, it was going to be …….you guessed it a pizza! We wanted to incorporate salsa verde, and chorizo and make a pizza.

Now, I am not trying to be a food snobby bitch, but some pictures of food that I see on the internet are less than appealing. The salsa verde/chorizo spread on a pizza dough was not an appetizing sight…….I could not put something that looked like that, in front of you!!!!!
I needed to make it more visually appealing……you all eat with your eyes…..I know we sure do. Continue reading “Chorizo Verde Tostadas”