Success Is The Teen Asking For Seconds

Kirk was gone last week on a business trip on the East Coast, which for me leads to feeling stagnant. It is hard to get inspired to cook when I am facing a picky teen and a small stomach toddler as my companions. The toddler will eat most anything, but what, eats 10 bites and is full. So yeah, my dinners were not creative. Heck, we ate leftovers for 2 nights! Having Kirk home again means I wanted to create. I came across a deal on pretzel rolls at Costco which were everything I had dreamed of in a roll – and of which I blow at making. Hence, I cheated and brought home a package. Thinking of Sunday lunch ideas I looked at what we had in the pantry – and this is what I created:

Pretzel rolls stuffed with a snappy chickpea salad. So the blog title? Well, The Teen went out and came back mid-afternoon and was hungry. I offered to make him a sandwich. He muttered and grumbled but finally agreed to try it at least. A few minutes later I hear “Hey Mom!! Is there anymore? If so, can I have another one?”

That is success. Gold. I made him another one. I mentioned it to Kirk, who after watching The Teen finish up his lunch, told him that not only had he had pickles, but also pickled carrots and bell peppers. Hehe. And enjoyed them.

Btw, this was a great recipe to use up garlic chip pickles I had on hand. I had grabbed them on accident one time, when I meant to buy bread and butter ones. They were very strong in flavor for snacking on, in a chickpea sammie filling though? Perfect. I used a bit of everything in the jar.

Chickpea Salad 

Ingredients:

• 1 can 15 to 19 ounces chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• ½ cup pickles & veggies, drained
• Italian dressing, to taste

Directions:

Finely chop the pickles (I used an equal assortment of pickles, pickled carrots, red bell pepper and garlic), add to a mixing bowl.

Add the beans to a mini food-chopper, drizzle in a Tablespoon or two of dressing, process until smooth as you like, adding more dressing if needed (or to taste). Mix into pickles, chill for a couple of hours for flavors to develop.

Seve on pretzel rolls or other favorite crusty bread.

Makes about 8 mini bun sammies.

~Sarah

Walker had us laughing on Sunday. When he was around a year old we bought him a chair that matches our couch. It sits next to the couch, so he has his own seat. Hence, that means then, if a box is around, why should he use his fancy seat, no? So yes, he pulled a Wholesome Sweeteners box out of the recycling and plopped it down in front of the TV and sat down. He loved it 😉