Chickpeas

We make a lot of dishes with chickpeas in them.

A lot.

At least once, if not twice a week, they make an appearance in our meals.  Sometimes hidden.  Sometimes not.  Oh, and let's not forget hummus.  This means I go through about 6 or 7 cans a week.  And at not quite a dollar a can (at Target) that's 5 or 6 bucks a week.  Not to mention that some of the nutrients is taken away and the salt intake is upped when you eat the chickpeas out of a can.

So I resolved to start making chickpeas from their dry bean form once the weather got cooler.  Well, the cool weather is here and I made my first batch this past week and it was great!  I got a lot of my tips from Ashley at The Edible Perspective.  She is a great gal (who I don't know personally but can tell from her wonderfully healthy - and GF - recipes and the simple fact that she loves living in the home of my Alma Mater, Ft Collins, CO).  You should check her site out, it's pretty sweet!

Back to the peas, though.  They were so simple to make!  And the saving incredible!

I took 4 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked them overnight (where they about doubled in size, so make sure you soak them in a large pot or bowl), rinsed them, and put them in a crockpot full of water and a little salt for 6 hours on low.

And then I was done.

And guess what?  The 4 little cups of dried chickpeas (that cost me about 2 dollars) yielded 10 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas.  That's 7 cans worth!  I saved some out to make hummus, saved some out for a recipe I'm making in 2 days that calls for 3 cups, and put the remaining "3 cans worth" in plastic baggies that are loving the coolness of my fridge right now, but will find their home in my freezer come morning.

Ahh...I love eating even healthier and saving money!!