Last night's dinner was somewhat similar to this creation I attempted over a year ago: http://lycheesilk.blogspot.com/2010/05/chickpeas-butternut-squash-and-spinach.html

The ingredients this time?

• Half a bag of Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend (mostly cous-cous, sprinkled with some orzo pasta, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa) 
• 1 can of garbanzo beans
• chopped celery
• diced tomatoes

I cooked the cous-cous separately from the veggies, and once everything was cooked, threw it all in together and mixed. Turned out delicious! I used those Trader Joe's chicken broth gel packets, but because I wound up having to keep adding water to the cous-cous as it cooked, it diluted the brothy flavor. Also added some salt and butter. A healthy sprinkling of seasoned pepper really brought out the flavor!

Some lessons learned for next time:
1. More broth-- perhaps instead of adding water I can use the vegetable broth made from cooking the fresh veggies (instead of draining the water from the veggie pot!)
2. Spinach would have been great!
3. Try substituting some of the water for milk, for a creamier texture and flavor.

Total cost:

1 can garbanzo beans = 99 cents
1/2 bag of Harvest Grains Blend (@ $2.69 per bag) = $1.35
2 stalks of celery (from a 1-lb, $1 celery package) = 25 cents
2 Roma tomatoes = ~75 cents

Grand total = $3.34 for dinner for 3!

Last night I was inspired by a recipe I came across in Better Homes and Gardens for garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas). I knew I had a can in the pantry, and had long wondered what I could do with it. It called for stir-frying some carrots with the beans and serving over couscous.

As mentioned in my earlier post today, I got a bonanza of different veggies at Ralphs. Since I knew most of them had to be cooked sooner rather than later, and since I knew the carrots we already had would hold longer than the bargain veggies, I decided to try one of them instead. I picked the butternut squash, since it was sweet and full of vitamin A, just like carrots.

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• butternut squash, diced
• onion, diced
• baby spinach
• quinoa
• cumin

I started out by stir-frying the onion and butternut squash (which already came pre-sliced/diced in the bag) in grapeseed oil in a wok. Sprinkled with about a teaspoon of cumin and some soy sauce for flavor. Covered the wok and let it cook for several minutes longer. Quinoa was cooking in a pot to the side, according to package directions.

When the butternut squash was almost done (softened but still somewhat firm), I added spinach and cooked till it shrank. Turned off the stove and threw in the can of garbanzo beans to warm them up a bit. Served the whole mix over a bed of quinoa. Voila:


Total cost?
1 can garbanzo beans = 99 cents
1 pack squash = 99 cents
baby spinach = $1
1 cup quinoa = $1.25
1/2 onion = ~25cents

Grand total = $4.48 for a nice, filling and vegetarian meal!