Roasted Chickpeas

If you were to venture into my kitchen at the moment you would see an array of jars on the counter with 'snacky' little treats inside, waiting to be nibbled throughout the day - okay, technically they're there because I've been meaning to make my granola bars for the last couple of days but haven't got around to them yet, but with the jars being so front-and-centre on the counter they've become my go-to treats.  Who can resist grabbing a small handful of roasted pumpkins seeds, or pecans, or chocolate chips, or peanuts, or juicy plump raisins, or.....well you get the picture.  Needless to say I've been having snack attacks, so I thought I would make something to go alongside all the other treats in an empty jar that I just happened to have hanging around :o)

Roast Chickpeas
makes about 2-2 1/2 cups

2 cans (15oz) chickpeas
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp mesquite seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
1/16 tsp black pepper

• preheat the oven to 425 F, and set aside a large baking tray covered lightly with cooking spray.
• drain the chickpeas in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water.
• lay the chickpeas out onto kitchen towel or a clean tea towel and using another tea towel pat gently until dry.
• transfer the dry chickpeas to your prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
• remove the tray from the oven and shake well:  return and bake for another 10 minutes.
• remove again and drizzle of the olive oil and sprinkle evenly with all of the spices.
• using a spoon mix thoroughly to ensure that all the chickpeas are coated with oil and spices.
• return to the oven and bake for a further 10-20 minutes, shaking the tray half way through, until the chickpeas are browned and slightly crunchy.
• store in a sealed jar - out on your counter for easy nibbling if possible!!!!

 Roasted Chickpeas ingredients.

these are the spices that I used but of course mix things up a bit using whatever you have and like.

drain and rinse the chickpeas.

lay out on some kitchen towel and dry thoroughly.

transfer to your prepared baking tray and begin the baking.

once you've baked them for about 20 minutes, sprinkle over the olive oil and spices and mix thoroughly with a spoon.

once they've baked long enough to become browned and slightly crunchy, let them cool down in the baking tray and then store in a sealed jar.

Taco Seasoning

If you're anything like me, no matter how organised you are or would like to think you are, once in a while you start making something for dinner only to discover that, oops!!!.... you're missing that one ingredient that will make all the difference as to whether you carry on with what you'd planned or if the take-out menus come out of the drawer.  Mine tends to be taco seasoning for some reason - although I can go from one extreme to another by either having no packets on hand or about half a dozen (what can I say, I'm a sucker for bulk buying!). 

So after searching the 'world wide web' and finding, oh, about a GAZILLION different links for taco seasoning, I looked at my spice shelf to see what I had on hand and came up with the following concoction.  Hubby especially likes quite spicy foods so I went a little heavier on the cayenne and red pepper flakes that other people might like, but it's a good base to be able to add or subtract to your own personal preference.

Taco Seasoning
produces just over a cup in quantity

2 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs chili powder
2 Tbs sea salt
2 Tbs ground black pepper
2 Tbs onion powder
4 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp oregano

• place all of the spices into a bowl and blend well.
• use 1 Tablespoon of seasoning to 1 Pound of meat as a guide, but adjust to your own personal preference.

 Taco Seasoning ingredients

place all the spices in a bowl (some are buried underneath!)....

....and blend together well.

store in a screw top jar or a Ziploc bag - I'm giving some away as gifts so I divided the mixture into small (125ml) jars.

ready for Taco Tuesdays....or any other day when the urge takes you!!!