Haven't been on in a while, but made this delicious dinner the other night and thought I would share. The Cajun Chickpea Patty is my own spin on a similar recipe I discovered on vegandad.blogspot.com. Hope you have as much fun making them and eating them as my family and I did.

Cajun Chickpea Patties

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1/2 C diced onion

1/2 C diced green pepper

1/4 C diced fresh chives

2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - rinsed and drained

4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp Cajun seasoning

4 tbsp flour

2 tbsp corn starch

additional oil for frying

1. Heat oil in frying pan over med. heat. Saute onion and green pepper for 5 - 7 minutes, until softened. Remove from heat.

2. Place chickpeas in a food processor along with the onion mixture. Pulse until chickpeas are no longer whole, but don't process them too much. Place chickpeas in a bowl, add Cajun spice, parsley, and chives. Mix well. Add flour and cornstarch and mix well. Place in fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oil in frying pan over med/med-high heat. Shape chickpea mixture into 8 - 10 patties and fry in batches, about 2 - 3 minutes per side or until crispy and golden brown. Flip a few times if they are browning too quickly.

*Cajun Spice (from Cooks.com)

1 C salt

6 tbsp black pepper

6 tbsp red pepper

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp sweet basil

2 tbsp thyme

Put all ingredients into a large jar (mason jar or old speg. sauce jar) and shake well.

Spinach Rice Pilaf

2 tbsp olive oil

1/3 C orzo

1 clove garlic, finely chopped or minced

1 cup rice

1 can vegetable broth + 1/2 C water

salt and pepper to taste

fresh spinach, chopped (about 4 cups)

1. Place a med sized pan over med - high heat, cover bottom with olive oil. Add the orzo to the pan and toast until golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes.

2. Add the garlic to the pan and continue cooking for another 30 seconds. Add the rice, stock, water, salt and pepper to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to med-low and simmer until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft, about 15 - 20 minutes.

3. Fluff the rice and fold in the spinach. Serve.