Recipe Time: Sweet Potatoes and Carrots with Chickpeas

Well bloggies I think it's time to share a favourite slow cooker recipe.  This will definitely be used a lot come fall when I am back in the office.  I like this recipe because I can prepare it the night before and you can't really over cook it:

Start by greasing your slow cooker stoneware

Then you will need:

2 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 Carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can crushed pineapple, drained with 1/4 cup juice set aside
2 tbsp brown sugar

Topping
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup veg stock
Salt and pepper to taste

In your greased stoneware combine sweet potatoes, carrots and pineapple.  In a small bowl combine reserved pineapple juice and brown sugar.  Add to stoneware and mix well.

Topping:  In a foodprocessor or with a hand blender process chickpeas with broth, garlic until mixture is combined but chickpeas are chunky. Season with salt and pepper.  Spread mixture over sweet potato mixture.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Sometimes I have also been known to add some leafy green, usually kale, for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Just chop and stir it all into your mixture (no longer looks as pretty but you get some good nutrients from the green power).  Frozen peas work nicely too. For this addition I just put a handful in the bottom of individual bowls and laddle the sweet potato mixture on top.  The heat thaws the peas quickly.

Add some grilled pita or a crusty loaf of bread and you are set.  Crumbled feta also cuts the sweetness nicely too or a little balsamic drizzled on the bowl.

This recipe is courtesy of Judith Finlayson.  Her slowcooker recipes are the best.  They never taste like mush and she doesn't use prepared canned soups so your meals aren't loaded with nasty amounts of sodium.  http://judithfinlayson.com/index.html .  Really, check out some of her books at the library.  She's worth the time and the effort is pretty minimal.  The reward is some pretty fast, healthy and tasty meals.

I hope you give this a shot and enjoy the meal.