Tag Archives: Dongducheon

Weekending Recently

Unless the weather decides to make a rather abrupt U-turn in the next few days (I really don’t foresee this happening), we have written off summer and bid farewell to her for another couple of months.

We’ve been sleeping with the large windows slid open and it makes our sheet so comfortably cool when we slip into our bed at night. Robes and slippers have become almost mandatory and are hung near the bed to be slipped into, cheerfully greeting us for our early morning awakenings. We have been burning our apple and pumpkin candles, scenting our home in the most sumptuous fall smells. Strolls in the evening require a sweater or layers. Mums are proudly displayed all over our cute country town in stunning shades of yellow, burgundy, and gold (Are you ready for your blog feeds to be jam-packed with gorgeous outdoor shots of all things fall?). Oh! I almost forgot, most excitingly we received our order of Starbucks pumpkin spice flavoring for endless heavenly homemade pumpkin lattes, mornings have never been so sweet!

Continuing on with our love of fall, I found a fun new recipe that made me think of fall, comfort, warmth, and being bundled up inside. A yummy veggie shepherds pie!

Watch out, our fall fever is highly contagious….Luckily it’s treatable and you just have to give into all of your fall fever desires.

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Source: Thoughts by Natalie

INGREDIENTS

3 Medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
A dash of nutmeg
A drizzle of fruity olive oil, to taste
2 Cans vegan chili
1 Onion, roughly chopped
4 Cloves of garlic, chopped
4 Small to medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into pieces
1 14-oz Can artichoke hearts, drained and cut up
1 14-oz Can fire roasted tomatoes with green chiles, drained
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Teaspoon dried thyme
1 Teaspoon dried basil
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot of fresh salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until under fork tender and mashable.

Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic; stir and cook for five minutes or until the onions are soft. Add in the zucchini; stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add in the artichokes and tomatoes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, dried herbs and cinnamon. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until the liquid is reduced a bit. Remove from heat.

Once the sweet potatoes are ready, drain and mash them lightly. Season with sea salt, ground pepper and nutmeg. Drizzle with a little fruity olive oil if desired.

Now it’s time to layer the casserole dish. Start with the two cans of chili, followed by the veggie mixture, then top with the mashed sweet potatoes. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until bubbling and hot—about 25 minutes.

Sunday Cooking

I didn’t realize until recently that I collect cookbooks. I didn’t set out to do so…it sort of just happened. I can always remember fussing to look at my grandmothers red binder of hundreds of recipes she collected over the years. It’s so silly, I still sort of fuss to see that red binder when I visit her, I chalk it up to being sentimental. To this day I really enjoy reading new cookbooks almost like a chapter book. It might sound a little strange but I can start from the very beginning and work my way to the very end. Each new page making me think of a new meal idea or challenge. I also enjoy books on culinary school…I’m often swept off into a daydream of what if’s and thoughts of wouldn’t that just be incredible to attend Le Cordon Bleu?

I grew up not really knowing how to properly cook. I think it is safe to say that I was fairly spoiled because I always had someone making me a meal. I believe that is where the intimidation of cooking started for me. I loved the idea of end result where the food was served, admired, and enjoyed like a piece of beautiful art. It was just getting to that end result that I lacked for many years.

Thankfully as I’ve grown so have my taste and curiosity to make and create something new. The fear is still sometimes there looming in the back of my mind when a recipe looks very challenging, however I keep that little voice in check by reminding it that I wont get to enjoy or share something that could be incredibly delicious unless I try to make it first.

Can you relate? Have you ever been intimidated by cooking? Do you find it easier and have more confidence to cook with friends rather than alone? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. For now, no Le Cordon Bleu but I’ll leave you with two very simple but delicious recipes that I pulled from two of my cookbooks.

Blueberry Crisp
From: Bread & Wine

Ingredients:

4 Cups blueberries (or any fruit, really)

Crisp topping:

1 Cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 Cup pecans
1/2 Cup almond meal (available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, health food stores, or made by putting almonds in food processor until fine, but before they turn to almond butter)
1/4 Cup maple syrup
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/2 Tsp salt

Directions:

Pour four cups fruit into 8×8 pan. Spread crisp topping over the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes, or longer if topping and fruit are frozen, until fruit is bubbling and topping is crisp and golden.

Serves 4

Basic Hummus
From: The Super Baby Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 Can chickpeas (or the equivalent amount of chickpeas you have cooked yourself)
2 tbsp tahini (omit this altogether if you prefer)
2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 to 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Drain the chickpeas and combine all the ingredients in a food processor.

Blend on a low-speed until the hummus is completely smooth. If the mixture seems very thick, add in some extra olive oil or water to loosen it up.

Let me know how they come out for you. Enjoy!

Around The Table

“It’s about what happens when we come together, slow down, open our homes, look into one another’s faces, listen to one another’s faces, listen to one another’s stories. It happens when we leave the office and get a sitter and skip our workouts every so often to celebrate a birthday or an accomplishment or a wedding or a birth, when we break out of the normal clockwork of daily life and pop the champagne on a cold, gray Wednesday for no other reason than the fact that the faces we love are gathered around our table. It happens when we enter the joy and the sorrow of the people we love, and we join together at the table to feed one another and be fed, and while it’s not strictly about food, it doesn’t happen without it. Food is the starting point, the common ground, the thing to hold and handle, the currency we offer to one another.” ~ Bread & Wine, by Shauna Niequist

F o o d. F o o d is four little letters that make up a word, that is sometimes overrated but often underrated. Think about it, no matter what language you speak, where you come from, or how far you go, food is made as an offering, an extension. Its used when words cannot be expressed due to sadness, or in times of celebration and happiness, or even as simple as when there is a language barrier. Ah food.

I turned my friends down earlier in the week when invited out for dinner because I was just to sad, upset, and feeling guilty to even fathom enjoying fun or enjoy food. I cashed in my rain check this evening and tonight I met around the table with a few good friends. We of course dined and enjoyed Saengsun jun (Korean pan-fried fish). After a really hard week, it was nice to just sit back relax, share memories, chat, and dine together in one anthers company at this dinner table. The older I get (I can say that now with another birthday under my belt as of August 14th) the more I realize how much I love to gather around the table with my family and good friends.

I even took along my camera to capture the moment and share with you all. Enjoy!

Messy

The original mastermind behind the recipe I am going to share with you all stated that this dish looks like the inside of her car. Messy, unorganized, basically a chaotic mess…. I have to say, this dish easily applies quite well to our current state of mind too.

Messy.

We have had a really challenging past few weeks, topping everything off with losing our beloved family pet, Bean cat, yesterday morning. She fell very ill and passed very quickly thereafter. We still can’t believe that she is actually gone, nor do I ever know if we will ever be able to accept the harsh reality of it all.

A gigantic ball of a mess.

I really like that this blog is positive and uplifting showcasing our experiences and the good memories of our life as we live and travel around the world. However, I feel that I, we, are in a really messy state of mind dealing with our loss. I’m not sure how this post is going to go.. I can hardly form complete thoughts from moment to moment, but typing or writing out things in the past has always been therapeutic and added a little peace.

There are still so many questions that we know will never be answered. Still so many things that race through our minds. All of the what ifs. All of the things we are beating ourselves up inside over. The guilt, the remorse, the anger of it all, not getting the chance to tell her goodbye.

Bean holds such a special place in our hearts. We adopted her as a kitten in our home state of Pennsylvania. From Pennsylvania Bean traveled and lived with us through all of our marriage monumental moments. She moved from our first home in PA, to our first apartment in VA, to our first overseas home in South Korea. Gosh she was such a brave spitfire of a cat! She was always with us, no matter what! Always there to greet us when we got home every evening, and always there to wake us up every morning (oh was she was good at that!) she kept us both company earning two Masters degrees with us (Trust us, she earned those two Masters degrees too, she put many hours sitting patiently in our office on the desk or chair alongside of us). When Mr. B would travel for work, or when he moved to South Korea for the first six months without us, she was there with me through it all. She kept us laughing, kept our spirits lifted, and rarely was bad.

Last night going to a place we call home, feels no longer like a home. There is such an emptiness in my heart and in this space. The silence is just so loud and feels so hard to deal with. This is the first time in over five and a half years that I have ever felt so incredibly alone. I know that I have a loving partner who is always there for me, a loving caring family, and amazing friends that are all over the world, however…I am so alone without her here. Everything we do reminds us of her. Any sounds that we hear from our neighbors makes us think its her getting into something or jumping up onto the table, but it’s not.. We went to bed last night so badly wanting to call her in to jump us with us… but we couldn’t.

It’s always such awkward feeling when you have a dear friend that loses a pet of family member. You never quite know what to say to them. You know that no matter what you say never is going to really help, but you offer those words of encouragement, blessings, prayers, etc. However, those words, thoughts, blessings and prayers were dearly appreciated. We truly are so thankful for everything from everyone and want to say thank you to the masses as best as we can. Knowing that you all were sending those prayers Bean’s way and for us meant the world. Thank you all so much.

As I said earlier, messy… perfect dish to sum everything up.

Brown Butter Garden Vegetable Pasta Bake

Recipe slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pasta, like ziti or rotini
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, chopped
2 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, or whatever you prefer

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare water for pasta and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta to cook. Drain when finished.

While pasta is cooking, heat a large pan on medium-low heat. Add in olive oil, then add in onions, zucchini, corn and tomatoes with salt and pepper, stirring to coat. Cook for 10-15 minutes, tossing occasionally, while softened.

While pasta and vegetables are cooking, heat a small saucepan oven medium heat. Add in butter and whisk constantly, stirring until bubbly and brown bits appear on the bottom, about 5-6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Turn off heat under vegetables and add in pasta. Drizzle in brown butter and add in cheese, stirring well to coat. Put pasta into oven safe baking dish. Pop the dish on into the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is all melted and bubbly. Remove from oven, pop open a nice bottle of champagne or wine and please say a toast in remembrance of our dear Bean cat.

Slow Cooker Pigeons

You don’t have to tell me, I know, I know. I’m crazy and that it’s totally opposite of slow cooker season.
However, I needed some good old Pennsylvania cuisine, plus it’s Sunday, we’ve got a whole rainy afternoon to kill. It’s the darn monsoon gloom, July tends to get bad around these parts.

Pigeons it is!

While Mr. B and I took advantage of some new and old comedy movies, the pigeons were simmering and steaming away in the slow cooker. Gosh, y’all! The house smelled simply amazing and had us both reminiscing of our Sunday dinners at home.

We vegged as the heavenly familiar aromas just wafted through the apartment and then finally at 5 on the dot, we indulged! These pigeons were packed with delicious flavor. Heavy on the pepper, garlic, onion, green peppers, and of course cabbage leaves.

Slow Cooker Pigeons

Slightly adapted from Pioneering Today

Ingredients:

1 small cabbage head

1/2 cup uncooked Korean rice

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey

Sauce

1 15 ounce can Newmans Own marinara sauce

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Boil a pot of water and add cabbage head, steam for 3 minutes and drain.

Combine the uncooked rice, egg, milk, onion, garlic, green pepper, beef, salt, and seasonings in large bowl. Place meat mixture in center of cabbage leaf and roll, tucking and folding all ends. Place seam side down in slow cooker.

Mix ingredients for sauce together and pour over rolls. Cook on low 8 hours in slow cooker.

Just One

Can you ever just have one cookie? Does one cookie ever suffice? Nope. Not in my book. You at least need two. It’s got to be a pair, equal, one for each hand. Right? Right!

It’s Tuesday night, I’ve had a lot on my mind these past few days. Korea has a major storm set to blow in over the next few days from China.

What to do?

What to do?

Bake cookies!

I needed something mindless, stress free, and relaxing. Peanut-butter oatmeal cookies were just what was in order. We’re a huge fan of oatmeal cookies and peanut-butter part was just a bonus.

I know when my grandfather reads this blog post he will crave oatmeal cookies and pester my grandmother to bake him some. Oatmeal cookies are his favorite cookies. I guess the apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree. There is nothing quite like a fresh batch of baked cookies and a tall glass of milk to wash it all down.

I remember baking cookies various times throughout my life. The best memories of course were licking the cookie dough from the spoon afterwards. Hopefully there weren’t any raw eggs in those batches…uh oh spaghettio.

Honestly, I wish I would have paid more attention to baking and cooking from my grandparents when I was young. They are such awesome resources and have so much culinary experience. As I’ve grown up I’ve realized that I really enjoy learning to cook and bake new things. I always look forward to cooking and learning something new when im home visiting them. i always leave excited, eager to try what I learned at home with Mr. B. Sometimes I even ponder culinary school to learn real techniques and more kitchen confidence when venturing way outside of the normal weeknight spaghetti or chicken dish. What about you? Have you ever given culinary school a thought? Perhaps someday?

Back to cookie baking. I’ve included the recipe below adapted from various peanut-butter oatmeal recipes just for you.

Enjoy!

Peanut-butter Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1/3 cup natural, chunky, unsalted peanut-butter
1/3 cup almond milk, soy milk, or regular milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees or 190 Celsius.

Mix in a mixing bowl the sugar, milk, peanut-butter, butter, and vanilla extract until everything smooth.

In separate bowl, mix both flours well, oatmeal, baking soda and salt.
Pour both separated mixes together. The wet and the dry, and mix until the ingredients are just mixed enough together.

Next drop cookie dough onto cookie sheet, gently flatten cookie tops with a fork to bake evenly.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies are set.

Now…while the cookies bake, we tackle the dishes….

Around The World In One Week

Okay, maybe it wasn’t around the world…but it truly felt like it! It ended up that we went back to the states for a wonderful whirlwind of the fourth of july week. We tackled DC, PA, 3 full days of work, a best friends wedding, family, and a scuba diving certification. I think its safe to say, been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. LOL! We still wouldn’t have traded the time for anything in the world.

How blessed am I? I got to see two of my childhood best friends in one week! Cassie and Josh drove up from North Carolina and toured DC with me for three days. Don’t worry, I’ve got some photos to share of our adventures from the DC duck tour, and yummy sweet treat to ourselves at DC cupcake. Yep, we were the crazies that stood in the rain, but I’m telling you….Mmmm…the carrot cake cupcake was absolutely divine! We then went to Arlington cemetery to visit the tomb of the unknown soldier, so surreal!

After we said so long to my best friend and her husband, we headed North for our hometown in Pennsylvania. My other best friend, who you might remember from her visit here with us in Korea, was getting married. The wedding was perfect! Everything was so simple but elegant. You are going to love this… the reception was at a small local airport, inside of a hanger. It gets better folks, whoopie-pie wedding cake tower! If you are not familiar with a whoopie-pie… first, I’m so sorry you have been deprived this long, second, google the word and drool! The reception also featured stations from Danville, PA (where the reception location was), Seattle (where the groom is from), and Istanbul, Turkey (where the honeymoon destination is). These stations consisted of sliders, salmon, seafood dip, pidgeon and perogies, hummus, chicken kabob, and the list just keeps going on. It was one of the best memories of my life for my best friend and her husband. As we speak, the newlyweds are relaxing in each others company somewhere in Turkey. Gosh, I cannot wait until they get back so I can get the lowdown on the trip!

So how was your fourth of July? Did you travel far? See fireworks? Maybe it was more low-key and all about grilling and chilling? Whatever the case, I hope that it was a great one and I hope to hear about it from you all.

Positiveness & Pasta

I am going to apologize for my corniness upfront, sorry everyone.

Do you ever think about all of the blessings in your everyday life? Gosh, we just have so many things to be eternally grateful for each day in and out. I’ve said this before and I will say it again, you have to be the captain of your own boat. Positiveness starts within YOU. Now, I am not saying that life is always a bowl full of cherries. Life can absolutely throw you curb-balls out of the left field. In the end what matters is how YOU chose to handle that curb-ball and move forward.

I started reading a book that’s suppose to help transform the way you think in 28 days. Each day I begin my mornings with my breakfast fork in hand and “homework” for the day. Each day I list 10 things that I am grateful for. Each night I use my gratitude rock and go to bed with the most important thing that happened to me that day, saying thank you, counting my blessings. Told you I was going to get very corny on you with this post. No, but really, I am enjoying making myself acknowledge all the wonderful things in my life daily.

As I close tonight, know that you are on my list of things I am grateful for. Your friendships, support, following, and comments are always welcomed and very much appreciate. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now, who’s hungry for some homemade baked penne rigate with sausage? (Another thing I am grateful for… my amazing chef of a husband who knows his way straight to my heart <3). Go ahead, help yourselves!

Bee’s Baked Penne Rigate with Sausage

Ingredients:

1 Package of (sweet or hot) sausage, we typically use hot.

1 Box of penne rigate pasta, we opt for the Dreamfield brand, or whole wheat

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

8 Mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1 Jar of your favorite tomato sauce

1/2 Lbs of shredded mozzarella cheese

6 Slices of provolone cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil sausages until cooked on stove top. Saute onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil until almost cooked and remove from pan, place into large mixing bowl. Next saute mushrooms in 1 Tbsp of olive oil and once cooked place in mixing bowl with onions, tomato sauce, combined with 1/2 of the shredded mozzarella cheese, mix thoroughly. Next boil penne rigata pasta until al dente. Drain and combine with your onion, tomato sauce, and cheese mixture. Now the sausage should be ready to be sliced and put into a pan to be cooked until slightly browned. Once sausage is cooked place and mix in with your other ingredients in the mixing bowl. Pour everything into a 13 x 9 greased pan, level, and place the provolone cheese slices on top. Place into oven for 350 degrees uncovered for 10 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown.

Don’t forget a to pick up a nice freshly baked baguette and bottle of wine to accompany your dinner. Enjoy!

Let Them Eat Cake and Celebrate!

Ooohhh you guys, just wait until you hear about the cake we ate! (More on that shortly, promise)

I joked a few weeks back and said, I believe Korea has went straight from the bitter cold, frosty, parka wearing temps, straight into the hot, muggy, hazy, summer month. Well, that’s no joke around these parts. We have fans running, weekly tall frappuccino orders placed to go, and tan lines to prove it. No complaints here, none. Well, maybe just one.. sweet corn from good old Pennsylvania! Hey! I’m a summer girl through and through. I love being able to get out and about.

Speaking of getting out and about…the past weekend was my work picnic. Nothing like the sound of a baseball game in the background, and some brats, burgers, and dogs on the grill to scream summer. We had such a good time! So much food! Who would have thought kimchi would be a normal side dish at a picnic? Welcome to Korea. Nevertheless, it was quite delicious and spicy, just the way we Bees like it.

Back to this cake that I initially spoke of. I baked from scratch one of the most delightful cakes we’ve ever had. Ready for this? Eek! Tiramisu cake! Yes! Very special days call for very special treats. Happy 6 years of marriage to us! Thank you all so much for the cards, and sweet messages wishing us all the best. We truly appreciate your love and support. We say our cheers to another 100+ more just like the first 6!

I know you want me to share the recipe of this cake I’ve been raving on about. Share I will! I found this recipe on Nectar and only altered it slightly by going with a different wine. Otherwise, word for word, I got my bake on exactly the same. Mmmm trust me, the hard work is completely worth it in the end. The folks over at Nectar surly know their way around a kitchen.

The tiramisu birthday cake: (recipe taken straight from Nectar)

The cake:

~ 13 T butter

~ 1 c. sugar

~ 1/3 c. honey

~ 2 eggs

~ 3 yolks

~ 1 t. strong brewed espresso

~ 1 t. vanilla

~ 1/2 c. milk

~ 2 c. flour

~ 2 t. baking powder

prepare two 9-inch baking rounds with butter, flour and parchment paper and set aside. beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. add the honey and continue to mix. in another bowl whip the eggs, yolks, espresso, vanilla and milk – set this aside. in another bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together. add a bit of the egg mixture to the butter and then a bit of the flour – continue this until the batter is thoroughly mixed and ribbons when you pour it. divide is equally between the two baking pans and bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. let stand for 5-10 minutes before turning the layers out onto a cooling rack.

filling number 1:

~ 1/4 c. marsala {sweet italian wine}

~ 1/4 c. strong brewed espresso

whisk together and set aside.

filling number 2:

part one:

~ 7 egg yolks

~ 1/4 c. sugar

~ 8 oz. mascarpone

~ 4 oz. cream cheese

~ 1 T. strong brewed espresso

whip the yolks and sugar together until they become thick and pale. add the mascarpone, cream cheese and espresso. whip until fully incorporated. pour into another bowl and chill.

part two:

~ 1 pt. heavy cream

~ 1/2 c. sugar

~ 2 T. strong brewed espresso

~ 2 T. marsala

combine all ingredients and whip until stiff peaks have formed. remove part one of filling number two from the refrigerator and gently fold – adding small amounts at a time – the mixture into the heavy cream mixture. be gentle as you do not want to lose the air that you whipped into the cream.

filling number 3:

~ 6 oz. roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate

~ 1 t. espresso grounds

assembly:

when the cakes are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut off the top round part of the layers – exposing the interior of the cake. place the first layer on a cake platter or serving dish. using a pastry brush – gently brush/dot the espresso and marsala mixture over the top of the cake. top with 1/3 of the cream/mascarpone mixture and spread gently – let it pour over the edges of the cake. sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped chocolate over the mixture – then add another 1/3 of the mixture on top the chocolate. top this with the other cake layer. using the remaining espresso/marsala mixture – brush this layer as well. top with remaining cream/mascarpone and sprinkle the chocolate over the top. using a fine sieve – dust the top with the espresso. let set up in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting into the cake.

Enjoy!

Summer = BBQ!

The warmer months always make me long for my back porch and grilling. As far back as I can remember my family always grilled. When we bought our first home, one of our first wedding gifts was a beautiful grill. It was a social thing, a neighborly thing, a lunch or dinner thing, a party thing, and just a summer thing we did, well….just because!

Korea really lets us put our grilling skills to the test. Just about any restaurant you eat at that serves meat, you will grill your own meal. Not only are we in control of our meats fate, but I guess our own fate too. Ha ha! We love the tables cut out with circular or square grills! We often joke and say when we go back to the states we need to take one with us. What a concept! To many lawsuits waiting to happen to try out in stateside restaurants I guess?

All the talk of BBQ makes me hungry! Tonight I decided on a not so typical BBQ meal. I also decided to give those little grills a night off. You are going to flip when you hear what I made!

BBQ chickpea wraps! Remember, don’t knock it until you try it! Besides the spicy awesomeness of this little wrap, and it being pretty darn healthy for you, and you won’t even miss that ol’ meat for once.

Happy “grilling” or should I say crock-potting! (Wink-wink)

BBQ Chickpea Wraps

Recipe slightly adapted from Olives for dinner

Ingredients:

(Place below following in crockpot on low heat for 3 1/2 hours, then increase to high heat for 30 more minutes).
1 (15.5oz) can of rinsed chickpeas
1/4 Cup Sriracha hot sauce (love this stuff!)
1 TB Heart smart butter
1 Small-medium chopped red onion
1 TB Sesame oil
1 TB Minced garlic
1/2 Cup vegetable broth

Optional Toppings once chickpeas are done:

1 Ripe avocado
1 Small-medium sliced tomato
Sour cream
Handful of fresh baby spinach
tortillas
Shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions:

When ready to serve, warm tortilla, I have a gas stove I find it best to place the tortilla directly on the metal grate right above the lowest setting of flame. Use tongs to flip over every once in a while. Be careful not to let the tortilla on to long, causing it to burn.

Fill up tortilla with your optional toppings and chickpeas. Enjoy!