cous cous with crunchy roasted chick peas

This recipe is a product of scouring my cabinets and throwing together some hodge-podge ingredients to make a quick and simple meal... I was in a dinner pinch, I was pressed for time and definitely would have settled for a baked sweet potato for a quick dinner but I was ridden with guilt because my last blog post was well over a week ago.   So desperate to create a blog worthy recipe without going to the grocery store, I gathered some classic staple ingredients and got to work.  I just chopped up some veggies in my fridge, including some garden grown zucchini squash from a family friend, whole wheat cous cous, and roasted chick peas.

Cous Cous with Crunchy Roasted Chick Peas (serves 5)
1 cup plus 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth (use veggie broth to make this vegan)
1 cup dry whole wheat cous cous
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 large vidalia onion
1/4 red pepper
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup zucchini
1 can chick peas, drained
2 large garlic cloves
salt, garlic powder, paprika to taste
fresh basil to garnish

First preheat the oven to 375 degrees.   Spray a baking sheet with a little cooking spray and spread out the rinsed and drained chick peas in a single layer.  Sprinkle the peas with the salt, garlic powder, and paprika.  Shake it around a little to coat all the peas.  Place in the oven and bake approx. 30 minutes or until the peas brown up and get crunchy.  

 Meanwhile, start chopping the veggies.  You can really add any veggies you like... I just happened to have the onions, pepper, mushroom and zucchini in my fridge.  Add the olive oil to a large skillet on medium heat.  Smash the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and add the smashed garlic to the oil (crushed garlic also works).  Next add the veggies and cook until the veggies soften, then reduce to low heat.  

While the veggies are cooking, add the broth to a small sauce pan, boil on high covered.  When the broth is boiling, remove from heat and add the dry cous cous.  Leave covered for 5 minutes.  Now if you've timed everything just right your chick peas should be just about ready and look like this...

 

 After the five minutes, fluff the cous cous with a fork then add it to the skillet of veggies.  If it looks a little dry, add more broth just a few tablespoons at a time.  

Lastly, add the roasted chick peas to the cous cous.  The chick peas add a nice texture and add enough protein to make a balanced vegetarian meal.  These roasted chick peas make a great substitute for nuts... season with any flavor you like (curry is really good!).   Add a bunch of fresh basil to garnish and even slice up a little more for extra flavor.   

Cooking vegetarian meals every now and again is great for the wallet as well as the environment.  If you can, try to cook at least one meatless meal a week.  If nothing else, it'll force you to think out of the box when planning your meals :)