Pinterest Spring Cleaning Week

We've been in a major spring/summer clean around here, and I decided as part of that, this week will be all about cleaning and clearing out my Pinterest 'must try' board. There are entirely too many things on there that I wanted to do and haven't. Now is just as good a time as any, right?

Today, we tackled roasted chickpeas, of which there are a plethora of recipes out there for. I had two different ones on my board, so decided, I'd just do both! There is one thing in common to both. That is, rinse, remove skins, and dry. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Done!

The first recipe we tried was from Steamy Kitchen, using only 4 ingredients! Our version was 1 can of Garbanzo beans, 1 1/4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp table salt, and 1 tsp Creole seasoning. We roasted at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, shaking them around half way through cooking. Then, we sprinkled on the seasoning and cooked another 10 minutes. These were very yummy. I had no idea what to expect, having never tried roasted chickpeas before, but I think the Creole seasoning made me love them. Half the seasoning was lost in the process, so they aren't overly salty or spicy, but still held on to that distinct flavor from the spices. I'm ashamed to say that these were gone between my hubby and myself through the course of the day/night before the next batch was even out of the oven!

The second batch we tried was from Food4Tots, using their own spice blend, which we decided to follow exactly and see how it went. We did vary the method for making them, though, as detailed in the recipe to follow.

Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients - 1-15oz can Garbanzo beans (rinsed, drained, skins removed, and patted dry), 2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp cumin.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the chickpeas in the oil and seasoning and spread on a baking sheet. Bake around 40 minutes or until crisp.

What we found in these and another recipe we tried was that putting the oil and seasoning on at the beginning of baking definitely improved how much seasoning actually baked on and stuck to the beans, with very little left behind on the pan, and a lot more kick in the snack! I preferred our 2nd batch both because of the method and the seasoning, but I'm assuming this method would improve flavor with any seasoning you choose to use.

I'm happy to report that some of them even made it into hubby's lunch for tomorrow! So, 2 down and 52 more 'must try' pins to go.. ack, 53 .. I just saw a cool pin about a Toy Story bento! Sigh...

Green grapes, Ghirardelli square, Popchips, romaine lettuce with tomatoes out of our garden, Babybel, and whole wheat wraps with mozzarella, smoked turkey, mustard, mayo, and cucumbers.

 
In this lunch...