Chickpea chili

A co-worker gave me a recipe for this excellent dish (thanks Donna!) and I just had to share.

This comes from Cooking Light magazine.

The original recipe called for dried chick peas, but I just used canned and it was fantastic.

1 can chick peas, drained

2 Tbsp olive oil divided

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth/stock

2/3 cup sliced pimento stuffed green olives

1/2 cup golden raisens

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, undrained and crushed

4 cups chopped and peeled butternut squash

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

6 cups hot cooked couscous

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet at medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute stirring constantly.

Add the tomato paste, cumin, salt, red pepper, cinnamon and turmeric and saute for another 2 minutes stirring constantly.

Place the onion/garlic mixture in your crockpot. Add the can of chickpeas and stir.

Add broth, olives, raisens and tomatoes, cover and turn to high. Let cook for four hours.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the squash and saute for 5 minutes. Add the squash to the crockpot and cook for an hour, continuing to cook on high for another hour.

Add the thawed peas and cook for one more hour on high.

Serve 1 cup chili over 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked couscous.