Cooking on a Lazy Sunday

I spent this past Sunday afternoon lounging around the house and felt inspired to do a little cooking.  I made two recipes, which I think are both worth sharing.  Feel free to use either one you like and let me know if you enjoy them.

This first recipe is courtesy of our friends from Dallas - Rich and Matthew.

Chickpea, Cherry, and Ginger Salad
Ingredients:
(2) 16 oz cans chickpeas
(1) 11 oz can mandarin orange (I use the kind without added sugar)
1/2 red onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
2/3 cup chopped cashews or pecans (I like cashews)
2/3 cup dried tart cherries (I use the no-sugar added kind)
1 minced, seeded jalapeno
1 cup chopped parsley
4 oz feta (fat free is fine)

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Rinse and combine the chickpeas and oranges.  In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, oranges, red onion, garlic, ginger, cashews, cherries, jalapeno, parsley and feta.  Whisk together the vinegar and oil in a separate bowl.  Pour vinegar mix over chickpea mix and stir well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
Eat!

How easy is that?  And I promise, it's delicious.  The ingredients may not sound like they all go together, but they do.  And you can substitute the dried cherries for any dried fruit you like, and the same with the nuts.  And I left out the jalapeno this time b/c it somehow didn't make it home from the grocery store.

I've been eating this all week over lettuce and it makes a nice salad.  I've also been adding grilled chicken to this salad as a lunch for Will.

The second recipe I made is also super easy.
Healthy Banana Cookies
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cup oats
1 cup dates (pitted and chopped)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dash nutmeg & allspice

Preheat oven to 350.
Mash up banana.  I find it easiest to do this on a cutting board/plate with a fork.  Add bananas to a large bowl, add oats, dates, applesauce, vanilla, and spices.  Mix well.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

I always rest my cookies on a rack before putting them up as well.  These are moist and very healthy cookies - they almost taste like a breakfast treat.

Enjoy!

I apologize, I didn't get any 'after' photos of these.