Freezer Frugalness

I come home on a Sunday afternoon. I usually make lunch on Sundays and today was no different. Except for the fact that every part of this meal came from the freezer! If you have not discovered frozen vegetables, you should go to the grocery store at this very moment and check them out. They are just as good as the real thing. I love to put them in stir-fry or heat them up in the microwave. It saves so much time and you do not have to worry about them going bad. Earlier in the week I had made some whole wheat penne pasta and froze what was left over. I defrosted it and put it on a plate. Then I grabbed the last Lemon Garlic Frozen Chicken Breast that was in the freezer and warmed it up in the microwave too! Last but not least, after heating up my olive oil in my skillet, I poured about a cup of my frozen veggies into the pan and heated them up. I threw in some salt and pepper, a little minced garlic and then put the chicken (cut up in pieces) into the skillet with everything. I also mixed in some spicy mustard and parmasean cheese and put it all over the whole wheat pasta. Talk about an amazing lunch.

Yeah, you know it looks good 🙂

Mediterranean Feast

Hummus (Roasted Red Pepper that is….)

Now I love me some hummus. I have tried all different bands and flavors, but nothing beats homemade hummus. Especially with roasted red peppers in it. I do not have a recipe for this yummy little snack but I can provide some guidelines to follow. See, this is the beauty of cooking, improvisation with a little guidance.

Hummus (General Idea)

-Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans/Whatever you want to call them

-lemon juice

-roasted red peppers

-______________ fill in the blank! be creative

Directions: Just mash those chickpeas up in a food processor until they are smooth and add in the rest of the ingredients! Enjoy

**I know most “official” hummus recipes call for Tahini but we could not find that at our local Piggly Wiggly (I know, I know Kroger is better). However, it was just as delicious without it, although I guess just not as authentic.

Falafel

I had no idea what falafel was until I ate at this wonderful Mediterranean Place near my apartment. It is basically hummus,

but thicker and has more “stuff” in it. Mash some chick peas up, throw in some parsley, some flour….well, I will let you

read the recipe. Again, (and I am truely sorry for those who need exact measurements) we basically looked at a recipe and

then did our own thing. Most falafel is fried in oil, but we went with the healthier version and baked it in the oven. It was

FANTASTIC! AND SO HEALTHY! I definitely recommend it. We served our falafel inside whole wheat pita bread, with our

hummus, tomatoes, and lettuce. Again, I really suggest trying it. It was easy, fun, and very healthy.

Baked Falafel

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 15-19 oz can chickpeas, drained
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drizzle olive oil evenly in

shallow baking dish. Preheat oven to 350.

While oven is preheating, mash chickpeas with mortar and pestle or in food processor. Add onions and garlic and blend.

Add remaining ingredients to make a thick paste-like consistency.

Shape into ping pong size balls and place in preheated baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.