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Chickpeas make a great healthy snack.  A cup of chickpeas provides almost one-third of an adults daily protein needs for bone, muscle and skin health.  This can be made in an air fryer or in the oven!

  Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 25-30 mins 

Ingredients

• 2 cans of low sodium chick peas
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp salt (optional or to taste)

How to cook it! 

1. Rinse chickpeas in a strainer
2. Add chickpeas to a bowl.
3. Add apple cider vinegar, chili  powder, salt
4. Mix gently or toss 

Air Fryer

1. Place in a baking pan that fits in the air fryer.
2. Use bake setting and bake for 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

Oven 

1. Spread chickpeas onto a baking sheet and place in oven at 400 degrees F. 
2. Stirring the chickpeas to cook evenly until brown and crunchy.
3. Cook time should be about 30-35 minutes.

Option/Variation

The chickpeas will crisp further as they cool.

What to look for in an air fryer?

So what should you look for when buying an air fryer.  Well for me the number one thing was the capacity or size of the basket...and yes size does matter!

I use a Gourmia 7 quart air fryer with a basket.  It is a great size and although it did not come with a baking pan I was able to find a round baking pan that fits inside the basket and of all places at the Dollar store.  The pan really helps when I am cooking things like the chickpeas or cheesy fries as everything stays contained in the pan and less mess to clean up.

This is one of my kids' favorites.  If you think you, your partner, friend, or kids don't like spinach, I challenge you to make this dish and try it out.  I have had many people tell me they don't like spinach. But once they eat this, most of the time the response is "I kinda like spinach cooked like this....!" 

  Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Servings:  6

Ingredients

• 2 12 oz bags chopped spinach - frozen
• 1 1/2 lbs chicken - boneless/skinless breast or thighs 
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger or 1 1/2 tbsp ginger powder
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 tbsp chili powder – to taste
• 1/2 tbsp turmeric
• 1/2 tbsp salt (to taste)
• 3 oz of olive oil or coconut oil 
• 1/3 box Shan Tandoori Chicken Masala

How to cook it! 

1. Cut the chicken into about 1 inch pieces.
2. Heat oil on medium heat in a pan/skillet with cover.
3. Chop the onions and add to the pan add 3 tbsp. oil, heat over medium heat until translucent.
4. Add the chicken, turmeric, chili powder, salt, ginger and tomato paste.
5. For an additional taste boost add about 2 tablespoon of Shan Tandoori Chicken Masala – you can buy this at your local Indian grocery store or on Amazon. 
6. Stir until chicken is coated with the spices.
7. Stir occasionally until chicken is no longer pink.
8. Add the frozen bags of chopped spinach and stir.
9. Add 1/3 cup of water. Stir occasionally.
10. Once spinach is cooked down. Turn up heat a bit and fry it up a bit.  Mixing often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
11. Turn heat to low add 1/4 cup water and cover. 
12. Once water has boiled down and is not separating turn off the stove.

Option/Variation

 A variation that I make to this is to add potatoes to it. To make it vegan, substitute potatoes for the chicken! 

 Butter chicken or chicken mahkani is usually a family favorite.  This can be enjoyed with naan or rice.  I have made this a healthier version by using low-fat or fat free yogurt instead of heavy cream.  You still get the amazing creamy taste, but with less fat and calories.   

   Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Servings: 6 

Ingredients

•  2lbs boneless/skinless chicken breast or thighs
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger or 1 1/2 tbsp ginger powder
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 3 oz of olive oil or coconut oil
• 3 tbsp fat free plain yogurt
• 1/2 box of Shan Butter Chicken mix - you can buy this at your local Indian grocery store or on Amazon. 
• 1/2 cup water 

How to cook it! 

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces.
2. Chop the onions and add to the pan. 
3. Add 3 tbsp. oil, heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until translucent.
4. Add the chicken, turmeric, chili powder, salt, ginger, tomato paste, and Butter Chicken mix.
5. Stir together until chicken is coated with the spices.
6. Stir occasionally until chicken is no longer pink. Stirring will keep the spices from sticking to the bottom or sides of the pan/pot.
7. Add plain fat free yogurt straight into the pan.
8. Add water. Stir occasionally.
9. Turn heat to low and cover. 
10. Cook for about 15-20 minutes on low until chicken is tender, stirring occasionally.

 
So why the Shan Masala addition?  

Shan Masala is my easy way to enhance the flavor, as it adds more spice profiles to the dish without having to add them in individually.  It is faster as well as much cheaper!  

 The less the fat content the better.  I use a 93% lean ground beef usually but you can also use  85% lean as well which is more readily available and usually on sale.  However, I prefer to use grass-fed ground beef.  

   Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Servings: 6 

 Ingredients 

•  2 lbs ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey) (I prefer getting grass feed or the leanest ground beef I can find. Also it can be frozen or fresh.)
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger or    1 1/2 tbsp ginger powder
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 tbsp red chili powder – to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cummin
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 medium potato (optional)
• 1 cup frozen peas (optional) 

 How to cook it! 

1. Place ground beef in a pot.  I like to boil the ground beef first to get some of the fat out. Once boiling let it boil for about 5 minutes drain the water. 
2. Chop the onions and add to the pan.
3. Add all the spices and the tomato paste.
4. Add a little water about a 1/4 cup.
5. Start breaking up the meat and mixing.
6. Once the meat is minced or broken down cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. 
7. Check and make sure there is no pink meat. Stir and continue cooking until all the meat is brown.
8. Now we are ready to fry the meat. Turn the heat up a bit and keep stirring the meat until it is a little darker brown and you start seeing the oil separating.
9. Turn the heat to low add a  little water (about 2 tablespoons) or the consistency you want; not too dry but not too runny.
10. At this time you can add the potato (cut into cubes) or peas to the keema. This is optional but adds a great additional flavor.
11. Cover and simmer on low heat until the potato's/peas are soft.

 Option/Variation 

 If you are serving with rice, I like to leave the meat a little saucier.   

   This recipe came about one year when I decided to serve a     cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving turkey and no one ate the cranberry sauce.  So, I decided to get creative with a leftover dish. I haven't shared this recipe before, even though I was asked for it all the time, and I would tell everyone I would bring it as my contribution.  Silly, since it is so easy to make.

   Prep Time: 5 mins 

 Ingredients 

• 1 can cranberry jelly 
• 2 medium lemon – or ¼ cup lemon concentrate
• ½ tsp salt 
• 1 medium serrano chile (for a hotter chutney) or 1 medium jalapeno chile (for a milder chutney)
• Honey or agave (optional) - to taste 

How to make it! 

 Add cranberry jelly, lemon juice, salt and chilis (cut in about 4 sections) into blender.  Blend on high or sauce setting until smooth.  

 Option/Variation 

 If chutney seems too spicy add honey or agave as needed.  

 Helpful Ideas

You can use any blender to do this but I use a Blendtec blender to make this chutney.  The blender is superfast and really does an excellent job of creating a creamy chutney.  I start with the sauce setting and then blend on the smoothie setting for a bit.