Saturday, December 14, 2013

Chickpeas Stewed in African Peanut Sauce with Sweet Potatoes and Brown Rice

Becoming a vegetarian as a young adult greatly influenced my interest in cooking. When I first became a vegetarian I found it challenging to make the recipes I loved as a meat eater adapted to my new vegetarian diet. When I got married the challenge grew because I had someone else to cook for! Someone who wasn't a vegetarian, and who wasn't open to becoming a vegetarian.

In order to get my husband to eat vegetarian I have to entice him. I have to bait him with new flavors, interesting textures, and me proudly announcing that our families entire dinner only cost a few dollars! 

Recently I found a contest focused on frozen vegetarian foods from Cedarlane Foods, and was enticed to enter. Even though it was a voting contest and I've sworn them off my mind started racing with the kind of food and flavors I would want in a frozen vegetarian meal. The end result was me trying my hand at making several vegetarian entrees and freezing enough meals that my family will have dinner on busy nights during the holidays. Some of the meals were old standbys I had never though to freeze, and some of the meals featured new and interesting flavors. 

All of my recipes can be seen in the links below: 
Feel free to vote on one of these recipes, or all of them. My favorite is the African peanut sauce.

The best part of this recipe contest is that I ended up with so many cook ahead meal in my freezer! It will be great for the holiday season when things are so much busier, but I have a feeling we'll be adding these wonderful meals into our regular rotation year round. 

Chickpeas in African Peanut Sauce Over Rice with Sweet Potatoes and Red Peppers

Sweet potatoes:
1 Tbsp. Peanut Oil
2 Sweet Potatoes peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Coat sweet potatoes in oil and roast in the oven for about 1 hour or until sweet potatoes are tender.
Peanut Sauce:
½ Tbsp. peanut oil
1 white onion diced
2 green peppers diced
2 cloves garlic
2 cups water
1 can of tomatoes
1 cup of low sugar natural peanut butter
Salt and pepper
¼ tsp red chili pepper flakes (optional)
2 cups of prepared and drained chickpeas (or 2 cans)
In a heavy skillet add oil and onions and cook until translucent. Add peppers, and garlic and cook until peppers just softened. Add water, tomatoes, peanut butter and season to taste. Add red chili pepper flakes and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes until flavors are combined. Add chickpeas and heat through.

Serve over long grain brown rice.

The greatest part of this dish is watching my husbands face as he tries it and proclaims it good. Knowing he will go to his office with left overs proudly, and that I replaced another hamburger in the course of his life with something much much better.