Potato Chickpea Curry (Great for Meal Prep: Instant Pot Recipe + Stovetop Instructions)

I’m one of those kinds of people who always has to think thoroughly through every decision I make about larger purchases. I spend months, sometimes years, researching things before I invest. The Instant Pot (Get one on Amazon here) was no exception to this. I was hesitant at first, and took years looking up the pros and cons and finally took the plunge. Now I’m wondering how I ever lived without this magical pot! Meal prep is a dream come true now. I think my favorite part of the InstantPot is the cleanup - which is virtually zero!

It took a little while to get used to all the buttons and beeps, but once I did, I started getting more creative with the things I made in it. I now use my Instant Pot several times a week!

I took a poll in Instagram a few weeks ago, and you all wanted some more Instant Pot recipes and now I can finally share one with you - a simple potato chickpea curry that will keep you fed all week!

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This potato curry is so great for a quick meal prep. I love putting it over wild rice and it lasts a week in the fridge. A week of lunch with little effort (and money!) sounds great to me. 

What’s in the curry:

Potatoes, carrots, onion, ginger, spices, tomatoes (canned for convenience) and...chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)! Everything is quickly chopped up, put in the pressure cooker, and cooked up! Set it and forget it (who remembers that commercial?)!

Note on the garbanzo beans: you can use canned, but I use dried beans that I’ve cooked previously. The Instant Pot is great for that. Find a tutorial here. You can freeze them to use whenever you like (I freeze them in 3 cup increments; a can is about 1 and a half cups).

I love curries because they are so easy to put together, nutritious, and versatile!

Potato Chickpea Curry

What You Need:

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4 potatoes, chopped

• 2 small carrots, chopped

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• Ginger, 1 inch minced

• 1 tsp each: Salt, Cumin, garam masala, curry, turmeric, chili powder, 

• 1 cup water (or plant based milk - I like coconut)

• Can of crushed tomatoes (Or stewed or diced, blended)

• 3 cups garbanzo beans (two cans if using canned)

• 1 tbsp fresh parsley (optional)

What to Do (Instant Pot):

1. Turn on your pot to Sauté setting.

2. Add olive oil and wait to heat.

3. Add onions and cook 3 minutes.

4. Add garlic and ginger and cook another minute.

5. Add carrots and potatoes and spices and mix together.

6. Turn off pot and add the water, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans.

7. Manually set the pot on high for 7 minutes, making sure to seal.

8. Once timer goes off, manually release the pressure

9. Adjust to taste and serve. You can serve this with rice or even naan.

What to Do (Stovetop):

1. Add olive oil to skillet and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.

2. Add carrots, potatoes and spices and cook until the vegetables are a little soft.

3. Pour in the water (or milk), tomatoes, and garbanzo beans.

4. Allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked.

5. Top with fresh parsley and serve with rice

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What are some of your favorite meal prep meals?

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Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I don’t know how things were for you growing up, but for me, Brussels sprouts were the thing to avoid at all costs. All. Costs. I thought they were the most bland, disgusting things ever grown in someone’s garden.

Turns out, I just experienced a bad cook. Huh.

I’m never one to turn down food, especially if it’s a good roasted vegetable. I’ve come to learn that vegetables don’t have to be bland or boring. Foods that are good for you don’t have to taste awful (although medicine does, am I right?).

I remember when I first had some sprouts that tasted, well, good! I was shocked and amazed and I decided that Brussels sprouts and me could be friends again.

This delicious side was inspired by my amazing Christmas vacation in Canada. It had been years since being able to go home to Canada for the holidays with my family, and I was over the moon at the miracle that occurred that allowed my hubby and me to go! We had a fantastic, albeit short, week.

Anyway, while there, my legendary mom whipped up some amazing Brussels sprouts. I had thirds.

It has been a very long, and very cold Winter, so I’ve loved finding solace in these delicious sprouts - even back in the good old US of A. They are delicious hot or cold and the hint of sweetness makes it perfect. They are the perfect side for pretty much anything. Not going to lie - I’ve even put them inside of ramen. For breakfast. Don’t judge.

I’ll keep this short so you can get right to the good stuff!

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

What you need:

• 1lb Brussels Sprouts

• 1 TBSP Olive Oil (or vegan butter. alternatively, use water)

• 1 TBSP Maple Syrup

• 2 tsp Roasted Garlic and Red Peppers Seasoning (optional) (I use this brand from Amazon)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2) Wash and cut the sprouts in half. In a bowl, add all ingredients and toss until Brussels sprouts are completely coated

3) Spread your veggies on a prepped baking sheet

4) Bake for 45 minutes or until tender

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How do you like your Brussels sprouts?

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Vegan Red Curry Paste

It's no secret that we love Thai food over here. I think it's the sweet and spicy flavours that really get us going. My husband loves Pad Thai and I especially love anything that can be dipped in peanut sauce. Okay, I'm starting to drool over here, so I'd better get to the point.

We love going for Thai, but it's not always easy to do. Being completely plant-based, it's hard to find a satisfying soup when eating out. Thankfully, eating in is ALWAYS an option - even when you're craving ethnic foods. I was craving a Thai soup and came across a few recipes, but the one that struck me was a coconut one. It needed Thai red curry paste and I somehow ended up recreating the paste before getting to the soup. I did this largely by reading the label of a jar I had in my fridge already. The result was delicious, so I tried it in another dish. Same tasty result. Before I get to those though, I thought I'd share the curry paste recipe. Patience though - the others are coming.

I like having red curry paste on hand because it's perfect when you need a quick curry or soup whipped up! It makes leftovers and odds and ends taste like new - and since I always like to keep some coconut milk in the pantry, it's quick and easy. 

The one good thing about this paste is that it freezes extremely well. It works out because some of the ingredients are a little harder to find (depending on where you shop) and can be on the pricey side. The only ingredients I didn't have on hand were the peppers and the lemongrass. I always keep ginger in the freezer (you never know when you'll need it!). Anyway, back to freezing the paste, because you definitely don't want it to go to waste, it's good that it freezes. Just put a tablespoon into each section of an ice tray and freeze! Then keep it in a baggie to use in future dishes. We only have a moose ice tray that we got from some friends for our wedding, so we have moose-shaped red curry paste in our freezer. Whatever works!

Try this out in any recipe that calls for red Thai curry paste, and you won't even know you didn't buy it in a jar! It's so easy to put together - just dump everything into a food processor or high-speed blender and go! Perfect base for all sorts of dishes.

Vegan Thai Red Curry Paste
Makes about 1 cup

what you need:

Inch section of ginger, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coriander
½ tsp salt
1 lime - tested and juiced
3 red chillies, tops chopped off
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 TBSP liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
1 TBSP maple syrup (optional, to offset some heat)
1 stem of Lemongrass, chopped
6 green onion, sliced
½ red bell pepper (optional, to offset some heat)

what to do:

To a food processor or high-speed blender, add all the ingredients. Process until it reaches your desired texture (I don't like mine too chunky, but you might!)

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What do you use red curry paste for?

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Vegan Corn Chowder

The best thing about Autumn (besides fireplaces, candles, fuzzy blankets and cuddling, that is) is soup. I love soup. All sorts of soup. I could eat soup year-round to be completely honest. I have been holding on to this recipe, just waiting for the perfect moment to share it with you all, and I decided that instead of waiting until it was cold out, I would share it now so that you can brace yourselves for it!

Autumn is indeed coming.

So my mom and brother came to visit and just left after two weeks. I hadn't seen the two of them in two years, so I was so excited and was literally bouncing off things I couldn't wait! Two weeks went by way too quickly, and even though we did a ton of fun stuff, I felt bad because they came just as I was prepping my life and classroom for the school year to start. It was a total bummer, but we are hoping to visit them for a few days at Christmas. They allegedly had a good time despite helping me haul desks and label books, so that is good I suppose. 

Anyway, back to the soup: Growing up, corn chowder was seriously my favourite. I actually loved (and still love) soup in general, but I could down bowls of this if I was in the mood. Even today, I love enjoying a hot bowl of this on a chilly day. Since we just concluded a lovely visit with my family, I thought it would be appropriate to [finally] share this recipe. It's a bit different than the original but still tastes delicious.

By the way, this soup has cashews in it. If I get enough nut-free requests, I'll share that version too ;-)

Vegan Corn Chowder

What you need:

• 3 small potatoes

• 1 medium onion

• 1 red pepper

• 1 TBSP homemade vegan chicken-style seasoning

• 2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp basil

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 stalk celery

• 3/4 cup cashews

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup cooked brown rice

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 1 TBSP dried)

• 4 cups corn

• 2 cups water

• 4 cups vegetable broth (try this homemade version!)

What to do:

1. Dice onion, pepper and potatoes and put in a large pot with 4 cups of vegetable broth.

2. Bring to a boil, and then a simmer. Add salt, seasoning, and garlic powder.

3. Blend the cashews, celery, 2 cups water and rice until smooth. Add the parsley and blend for a few more seconds and add cashew mixture to the pot.

4. Put 2 cups of corn and 2 cups of water in blender. Blend and then add to the soup.

5. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn to the pot and bring to simmer.

6. Add salt to taste.
    

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What's your favourite soup when the weather starts getting chilly?

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Asian Style Noodle Salad

Since the weather has warmed up tremendously, I'm more eager for cold, fresh salads to be on the table. I also have a crazy huge weakness for all things pasta, so although I would love chomping on tomatoes and cucumbers all summer (oh my. I'm hungry now!), once in a while, I crave some starch!

Pasta, however, does not provide the crunch I crave come summertime. My mom always makes this delicious Asian salad with ramen and a delicious ginger dressing, so I decided to do a take on it and see what I could come up with. 

It has been a crazy summer, and since this can be whipped up quickly in a pinch, this is perfect. The dressing can be made ahead for even faster assembly.

Simple Asain-Style Noodle Salad

What You Need:

• 4 ounces chopped or grated carrots

• 12 ounces (or more!) chopped red cabbage

• 12 ounces chopped broccoli

• About 8 ounces whole wheat pasta (I used soba noodles)

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar (or lemon juice)

• 3 TBSP agave nectar

• 3 TBSP natural creamy peanut butter

• 3 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce

• 2 tsp minced garlic

• 1 TBSP minced fresh ginger

• 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

What to Do:

1. Cook the noodles until al dente (follow package directions).

2. Drain and rinse with cool water and transfer to a large serving bowl.

3. Add the red cabbage, broccoli and carrots.

4. Whisk together the olive oil, rice vinegar, peanut butter, agave, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.

5. Pour over the noodle mixture and toss to combine.

6. Add the peanuts and cilantro.

7. Serve chilled.

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What's your favourite summertime salad? 

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