Takeout isn’t the only option when you’re tired and hungry at 5 p.m. “Cooking on the Go” is the answer to healthy weekday meals in a hurry. I’m talking 30 minutes or less. Honest! Most of us–even if we’re retired–have busy schedules and not enough time to spend in the kitchen. Even a food blogger and cooking club coordinator like myself can’t always be in the kitchen. So we need shortcuts and we need ’em fast!
Last month, New Start Cooking Club presented a “Cooking on the Go” class–featuring recipes that were quick and easy. I think it’s been our favorite class yet. We always get good raves from our club members but everyone said this was our best yet! It was partly the great flavors but it sure appealed to our busy friends. I hope it will appeal to you too.
One way that I cut corners and time in my New Start kitchen is by using my slow cooker. I’ve used it for most of my adult life, mostly for stews and soups. Chickpea a la King would fit in this category. It’s a chunky stew that you can serve over rice, a baked potato or a plate of whole grain pasta. We like ours over rice but you get to pick what’s your favorite! All you need is a blender and a slow cooker–and you’re good to go! Really fast.
LET’S START WITH THE BLENDER–Add 1 cup of water with 1/2 cup raw cashews (not roasted), 1/2 cup quick or rolled oats, 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley and thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons of onion powder and garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric. Blend this all together for about 2 minutes. That’s it! Easy-peasy.
NOW GET OUT YOUR SLOW COOKER–Pour the contents of the blender into your slow cooker or crockpot. (Someone told me that if you’re from the South, you say crock pot. I’m from southern Michigan. Does that qualify?) Then rinse your blender with 2 cups of water and add this to the cooker. Stir in 2 cups of shredded carrots, a 15 ounce can of garbanzos that you have rinsed and drained plus 1/2 cup of chopped onion.
COOKING ON THE GO–You will cook the sauce until the carrots are what I call tender crisp–just starting to become tender. It should also be boiling around the edges and thickened throughout. How long will this take? If you’ve got an average slow cooker (2 1/2 to 7 quarts in size), this part should take about 3 to 3 1/2 hours if you’re cooking on High. If you cook it on Low, it will take about 6 to 6 1/2 hours. If you use a timer, you can have Chickpea a la King ready in time for supper. At our house, we like it for breakfast or lunch.
FINAL STEPS –During the last 15 minutes, add in 2 cups of frozen peas. Stir it all together. Then turn off your cooker and let it sit for 5 minutes. You are now ready to serve this royal dish over brown rice, potatoes, quinoa, or whole-grain pasta. Hey, you could even spoon this over some toast. What a savory breakfast that would be!
COOKING SHORTCUTS–In my New Start kitchen, I get my rice ready by using a rice cooker. This is an indispensable appliance in my home. Brown rice takes from 1 to 1 1/2 hours to cook up, but I always program it for when I need it. Usually, I put the water and rice in the pot before going to bed and set the timer so it’s ready for breakfast the next morning. It is amazing to wake up to the smell of nutty jasmine rice floating through the kitchen! So with my slow cooker and my rice cooker, making savory meals like Chickpea a la King is a breeze–and a smart way to have healthy meals in no time!
CHEF’S NOTES–For an even quicker preparation, you can use 4 cups of frozen mixed vegetables in place of the shredded carrots and peas. Cook the vegetables as you would for a healthy side dish, then add at the same time you would add the peas (after the mixture is at its boiling point). If you’d like to make Chickpea a la King ahead of time, cook the cashews, water, oats, and seasonings til it is boiling around the edges. Rinse the blender with 2 cups of water and add to the cooker. Then you can refrigerate the mixture. Combine the vegetables in a storage container and refrigerate. Put the 2 together when you’re ready to get cooking. Add 20-30 minutes to the cooking time.
VARIATIONS–Sometimes I’ve skipped the carrots and used red peppers instead. Great for color and just as delicious. Peppers are a great addition–whatever color you use!
NOTES ON NUTS: If you want to cut the expense of making this dish, I would change the nuts. Cashews can be pretty pricey and I have found that if I use half walnuts and half almonds, it gives me the same creaminess that I find in using cashews. It’s also a safe switch if you are sensitive to cashew nuts.
THANK YOU to JoAnn Rachor for this delicious recipe!
FOCUS ON BROWN RICE: Brown rice has been a staple in many countries and civilizations. It is the grain of choice in Asia for more than 10,000 years. It is relatively low in calories (216 calories per cup), high in fiber, gluten-free and can be incorporated into a wide number of whole food-plant based dishes. Brown rice is a good source of magnesium which makes it a healthy-heart food. It is also abundant in the phytonutrient plant lignans, which protects you against many diseases, including heart disease. FuRthermore, a cup of brown rice provides 35% of the daily recommended intake of selenium, which helps repair damaged cells. This can help stop cancer cells from spreading. If you are trying to lose some weight, make starchy foods like brown rice part of your daily meals; add it to fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, lentils, and tofu.
Chickpea ala King
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 15 ounce can of garbanzos
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups frozen peas
Instructions
- Blend the first 9 ingredients for about 2 minutes. Pour in a slow cooker or crockpot.
- Rinse the blender with the 2 cups of water and add to the cooker.
- Stir in the carrots, onion and garbanzos.
- Cook until the carrots are just beginning to become tender. The sauce should be boiling around the edges and thickened throughout.
- After the mixture is boiling, stir in the peas.
- Turn off the slow cooker and let the sauce set for 5 minutes.
- Serve over brown rice, potatoes, whole grain pasta or even on top of toast.
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