oh great, a new addiction is not what I need right now!

I want to start off by saying... Telstra pretty much sucks!! I havent been able to get on the internet to do these recipes for over a week because telstra barred my internet because my account had an overdue amount on it that wasnt even mine and it took them a week to fix their own mistake!!! So I've been a little missing in action and now I have three very yummy recipes for you! Starting off with a Chicken, chickpea and beetroot salad, then some chilli con carne and I'll follow that up with some blueberry perfect pikelets. I will do the recipes in seperate posts with photos so you can find them easily again.


My first recipe came about because I discovered ROASTED CHICKPEAS! who knew these crunchy little devils could be so delicious?? well apparently quite a few of you did and I've been living under a rock! They have instantly become my new addiction and I skipped dinner last night so I could eat these instead!!

To me, these roasted chickpeas scream salad!! I started dreaming about what would be in this salad of awesomeness... at the markets last week I went in search of some deliciously fresh ingredients; my list included fresh basil, parsley, corriander, fresh beetroot and rocket. Next was a trip to woolworths to fetch my delicious roasted chickpeas and some other fresh ingredients.

Grilled chicken, chickpea and beetroot salad.

For the salad you'll need:
(to feed 4 people)
2 chicken breasts (diced)
1 tbsp turmuric
Olive oil
1tsp minced garlic
fresh basil
fresh corriander
fresh parsley
packet of rocket
cucumber (diced)
2x tomatoes (diced)
fresh beetroot (sliced)
1/4 pumpkin (sliced)
1/2 packet of chic nuts

for the dressing:
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1/3 good quality ceasar dressing
- dash of tabasco or chilli sauce if you like it spicy.
whisk together until well combined.

Heres how to assemble the salad:

1. rub the diced chicken breasts with turmuric, garlic, some of the fresh herbs and olive oil and throw into a frypan and cook until browned. put aside.

2. put the raw beetroot and pumpkin slices on an oven tray with some olive oil and salt and pepper for about  30 minutes at 200 degrees.

3. divide and tear up the (washed) basil, parsley and corriander leaves into four seperate bowls and throw in the rocket, diced cucumber and tomato.

4. add 1/4 of the grilled chicken to each salad and top with roasted beetroot and pumpkin. throw in a hand full of chic nuts and drizzle with the dressing.

5. ENJOY!

Note: This salad would work really well with pretty much any variation! I added some bean sprouts and grated carrot the second time I made this salad and my partner added crispy bacon bits!
* for a lighter dressing balsalmic vinegar would go great!