As part of my resolution this year to cook more of my meals at home I've been on a recipe-finding-frenzy. I have oodles of delicious meals pinned to my "yum" board on pinterest, and so far I've tried a few to varying degrees of success.
I bought myself a crock pot with some of my Christmas money and it's made cooking SO much easier. You just plop your ingredients in the pot and a few hours later you have a delectable, flavorful meal that gives the impression you were standing stove-side all day long. The first recipe I tried with my crock pot was this one for coconut chickpea curry from Tasty Yummies. In my family when a first-time recipe is a roaring success we classify it as "do-again," as in "DEFINITELY MAKE THIS AGAIN!!" This was a total do-again. It was chock-full of flavor and incredibly hearty. I'm not going to lie, I went back for THIRDS. THIRDS! I've cooked this one twice so far and the second time I served it over jasmine rice which somehow made it EVEN better. I definitely recommend it.
Another do-again recipe was this one from Love & Lemons for sweet potato tahini crostini. When I was adding the ingredients into my food processor I was a little skeptical.. maple syrup, chick peas and garlic? But it was scrumptious! I left out the ricotta since I don't eat cheese (please, please don't attack me!) It even got my dad's seal of approval -- and that's saying something, he's a super picky eater!
I also tried this crock pot recipe for quinoa with vegetables which was... okay. I added dry black beans at the beginning and they really overpowered the flavors (not to mention tinted everything a shade of greyish brown which, needless to say, wasn't very appetizing) I might try it again sometime, but adding rinsed canned chickpeas at the end instead.
Does anyone have a favorite vegetarian crock pot recipe? I'm so excited about finding new favorite dishes to make with it -- it's just so simple to use and produces such mouth-watering results :)
ps. While I'm on the subject of food... if anyone in the Princeton area has been missing Old World Pizza as much as I have (A LOT!) you need to check out Augustine's in Hamilton. The owner used to work at Old World Pizza and is using the same recipe! I was dubious at first but I ordered a pie last night and my taste buds were crying tears of joy -- it's the same pizza! I don't know if anything else in 2014 will top the happiness I felt last night (don't worry, I'm exaggerating. A little.)
