May 26, 2012

Lentil-Chickpea Chili

Have you ever had one of those weeks? The kind where everything seems just a little bit off. I am definitely having one of those weeks this week. My oldest got out of school for the summer on Tuesday, it was 95 degrees today and I feel blah. It doesn't help that I spent the evening watching Great Expectations on Masterpiece Theater, I love Dickens, but not great for my mood. So where does that leave me, making crockpot dinners for the week. I have had very little motivations to cook anything complex or taking hours to prepare. Luckily there have been great slow-cooker recipes in a number of magazines in the last couple of months. I love using the slow-cooker when the weather is too hot to cook or I just don't feel like dealing with dinner at all. Thankfully the February issue of Family Circle magazine had a recipe for Lentil-Chickpea Chili, which with 15 minutes of prep looked perfect for the less than perfect week I have been having.
This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of prep and 8 hours on low in the crockpot and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the other ingredients at the my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I was particularly happy that I found out that one of the stores in my area now has shallots by the pound. A huge difference in price, before I could only find the pre-packaged shallots which are $1.99 for 3 ounces. Now I can buy them for $3.99 a pound, talk about a huge price difference! I completely forgot to make flatbread, so instead I served the chili with homemade whole-wheat bread, which worked just as well. After adding the chickpeas (I left out the cilantro) I allowed the chili to cook for an additional 15 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With 22 grams of protein and completely vegetarian this dish is a nice change of pace for my family. I have been trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals and this recipe was easy to prep. This makes a large amount of chili! It states that it makes 8 servings, but honestly it looks like I still have 10 more servings in my freezer. I really liked the flavor of this soup, it was flavorful without having to add meat. My husband wasn't a fan of the chickpeas, but that is normal for him. He prefers chickpeas to be mashed or completely cooked until almost mushy. I was surprised that my boys ate their whole servings and asked for more. Overall this was a very easy slow-cooker recipe that was well received by everyone in my family.

For the recipe go to Lentil-Chickpea Chili.

24 comments:

  1. Mmm... this one looks yummy! I love crock pot meals too, especially when like you say you don't feel like cooking.

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    1. Crockpots are the best when you don't feel like cooking! I like that this recipe is vegetarian and very low in fat!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks, it was really delicious and high in protein, low in fat, which is great!

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  3. Just delicious...looks so easy to prepare and mouthwatering!

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    1. It is very easy to prepare and the taste was great!

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  4. OMG..un plato exquisito y hermosos me encanta,abrazos hugs,hugs..

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    1. Gracias :) No salió muy bien y era muy fácil de hacer! Su página web se ve muy bien!

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  5. New follower! Looking forward to reading more!
    Hope you will follow back.
    Daisy @ http://trendymomreviews.blogspot.com

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    1. I hope you come back and find some recipes to try! I already follow you, have a great weekend :)

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  6. That looks so delicious and so healthy too. I might try this soon. It will be perfect for the cold winter weather we are having here in Australia!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

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    1. It would be perfect for winter I agree! I love chili when it's cold outside. If you try the recipe tell me how it turns out :)

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  7. Yummy looks delicious! I'm a new GFC follower from the Take 2 blog hop. I would love if you followed me back at http://iheartpears.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, it turned out well and I love that it's vegetarian! Followed you back, hope your having a great weekend :)

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  8. Looks delicious! I too enjoy my chickpeas mashed a bit. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm also that way with raw broccoli! If it's in florets, I don't really care for it, but if I shred it up, I love it. Funny how that is!

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    1. My husband is the same way with raw broccoli also :) Too funny that you two have the same food habits! I think with the chickpeas it's a texture things with him, the outside shell is pretty thick. Come back and visit again soon!

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  9. Mmmm, this sounds so yummy. I will have to try it. I didn't look at every ingredient, so do you happen to know if it is gluten-free? Thanks. You can follow me at www.cozycornercrochets.blogspot.com. I published your post on my blog.

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    1. It's gluten free and yummy :) Going over to check out your blog now!

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  10. I have those kind of weeks all the time. In fact, is there any other kind?? lol

    My vegetarian friend is coming up for a visit this weekend and this recipe looks perfect! Thanks, Frugal!

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    1. I seem to be having them a lot lately :) Tell me how the recipe turns out!

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    2. Hi Frugal! I made this yesterday and we loved it! Well, my vegetarian friend and I loved it, my husband was not major keen, but I believe I mentioned that he's a confirmed carnivore? However, he did enjoy it as a side dish! :)

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    3. I'm glad that your friend and you liked it! I think my husband and yours are very similar :)

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  11. Thanks so much. We are not vegetarians but I try to have a couple of days out the week that are meatless. I love using lentils so this is great!

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    1. That's what I do also, one to two days a week are vegetarian dinner. I love using lentils also :)

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