Moroccan Style Chickpea Stew

Hello there! For lunch today I made this delicious Moroccan Style Chickpea Stew. It’s packed with veggies and flavour and is the perfect way to start your week off right. I used a bunch of middle eastern spices to give it a kick, as well as some tahini and balsamic vinegar for extra deliciousness. To make sure that the carrots, peppers and sweet potatoes are cooked through I let this stew cook for about 50 minutes, but if you cut your veggies into smaller pieces then you can cut the cook time down a little bit. I sooooo wanted to freeze my leftovers in preparation for the start of school, but we’re out of freezer bags so I guess I’ll just have to eat it all in the next week. Not complaining too much about that! Quinoa makes a great vessel for this stew, but you can eat it with any other grain or even on its own. Hope you enjoy!

Moroccan Style Chickpea Stew

Serves: 4

Total Time: 75 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 a white onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 1 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/2 tbs oregano
  • 1/2 tbs chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 medium-sized sweet potato, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 a bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup water, optional
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add in the spices and tahini and cook for another two minutes.
  3. Dump the chickpeas, carrots, peppers, sweet potato, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar into the pot. Stir the mixture well and make sure that all the vegetables are covered by liquid. If they aren’t, I recommend adding the 1/2 cup of water so that everything cooks faster.
  4. Bring the stew to a boil and then let simmer for about 40-50 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve with cooked grains and enjoy!

Have a great week everyone!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))

Coconut and Lentil Curry

When I posted my first curry recipe a while back, I said that I’d post more of them in the future, but I don’t know what took me so long because curry is freaking delicious. Coconut milk makes all the difference, giving this lentil curry a creamy texture and great flavour. It does take about 30 minutes to cook, but once you’ve prepped everything you kind of just throw it in the pot and let it do its thing, so it’s really easy. I like to serve this curry with quinoa, avocado and cilantro, but white rice or any other grain would work just as well. And you bet that I’m freezing the leftovers for later!

Coconut and Lentil Curry

Serves: 2-3

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
  • 1 can light coconut milk
  • 1 1/2 cups green lentils, rinsed
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Cooked grains for serving

Directions:

  1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Dump in the onions and cook until translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
  2. Add in the garlic and all of the spices, cooking for an additional 2 minutes, until the mixture is aromatic.
  3. Next, put the tomatoes, coconut milk, and lentils in the pot. Stir, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
  4. Let the curry simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are soft. At this point, you can taste the curry and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve with avocado and grains of your choice.
  6. Enjoy!

Hope you like this curry recipe! Have a great weekend;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))

Veggie Tacos

Let me start off by saying that these Veggie Tacos are the thebomb.com. I for one am a huge taco lover, so this delicious combination of peppers, zucchini, and lentils is right up my alley. Theses tacos take about a half hour to whip up, assuming you’re using pre-cooked lentils. For this recipe, I used canned lentils, because they’re ready to use and have a texture that lends itself well to tacos. Add in some zucchini, peppers and Mexican spices, and top it off with some guacamole and Mango Salsa, and you’ve got yourself a killer meal.

Veggie Tacos

Serves: l4-6

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 a red onion, diced
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 bell pepper (any colour) diced
  • 1 medium sized zucchini, chopped into half inch cubes
  • 1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed, or about 2 cups cooked green lentils
  • 1/2 tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tbs Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/2 tbs oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Add in the zucchini, bell peppers, and lentils and stir. Next, measure out the spices and put them in the pan as well. Mix together all of the ingredients and let cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are soft, and any liquid has evaporated.
  3. Place the veggie mixture in a tortilla with guacamole and mango salsa. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this delicious taco recipe! It’s great for hot summer days;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))

Cilantro Week: Mexican Beans and Quinoa

Hey there! For the last post of cilantro week, I have a recipe for Mexican Beans and Quinoa. It’s a great way to use up cooked quinoa that you have in your fridge, and makes an awesome side dish. The cilantro and lime work super well together, and some Mexican spices kick it up a notch. The final product actually turned out kind of creamy in texture, which is nice. I hope you enjoy!

Mexican Beans and Quinoa

Serves: 2-3

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

    1 cup cooked quinoa
    1/2 cup water
    1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
    1 tsp cumin
    1/2 tsp Chili Powder
    1/2 tsp paprika
    Salt and pepper to taste
    1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
    Juice of 1/2 a lime

Directions:

  1. Combine the beans, quinoa, water, cumin, paprika and Chili powder in a pot.
  2. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, and cook for about 5-7 minutes. The water should be absorbed by this point.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper.
  4. Enjoy!

I can’t wait to get into next week’s basil recipes! See you then;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked

Parsley Week: Corn and Bean Salad

Hi there! As promised, today I’m starting parsley week off with a refreshing corn and bean salad. Parsley is an great herb with lots of flavour, and can be used in a variety of different dishes. Before I get into the salad recipe, here’s some tips on how to grow some awesome parsley!

Like most other herbs, parsley should be exposed to a lot of sun during the summer months. Make sure to water your plants evenly so they don’t dry out though. You can tell when the parsley is ready to be harvested when the stem segments have three leaves on them. Then you can cut off these leaves, leaving the segments with less than three leaves to mature. If you want to store your harvested parsley for later use, cut off whole stem segments and put them in the fridge in a ziplock bag with some paper towel in it to soak up any moisture. Now that you know how to look after your parsley, here’s a delicious salad recipe to use it in!

Corn and Bean Salad

Serves: 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 small tomato, diced
  • 1 cup of yellow corn
  • 1/2 a cucumber, cut into half circles
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until the vegetables are coated.
  3. Enjoy!

This salad is great for summer because it’s so light and refreshing. To make it more of a meal, I mix some quinoa in with it. There’s another quick and easy lunch idea!

Some more awesome parsley recipes are coming your way this week! Thanks for reading and see you then;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))