This week has been a great week for leftovers!
We have been enjoying all kinds of reheated meals from Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze, to Tomato Barley Risotto, and some Holiday Soup For The Soul that I defrosted from the freezer. I don’t know why leftovers get such a bad rep…I’m always so happy when I realize that dinner is already cooked for me. I like to pretend that I have a personal chef when I eat leftovers.
After making Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze this week, I had some leftover cheeze sauce to use up. I have been drizzling it on wraps and sandwiches and even dipping tortilla chips in it. It is quite a versatile little sauce!
Then I decided to put a new spin on a favourite recipe of ours, Tomato Barley Risotto.
I made a double batch this time, which is always great for leftovers. This dish reheats nicely and it is really fun to sprinkle on wraps or just reheat in a bowl with a splash of milk.
But back to the sauce.
I think you know where I’m going with this idea…
It was such a simple addition to the Tomato Barley Risotto, but the outcome was amazing. With just a bit of sauce stirred in, this dish was transformed!
I mixed in about 1/2 cup of the cheeze sauce for a double batch (I didn’t really measure, but just added it to taste). It was mind-blowing good food.
Eric said, ‘Who knew you could eat something that tastes so creamy and cheesy and it would be vegan?’
I lit up like a Christmas Tree.
This dinner is going on a regular rotation for sure. I think it was the creamiest and most cheesy tasting vegan dish I have ever made (aside from the mac ‘n cheeze of course).
Lunch
I don’t show too many lunches on the blog, but this lunch was new and unusual so I thought I would share it with you.
The star of the show was Fresh Dill!
Do you guys ever cook with fresh dill?
I have been in love with anything Dill flavoured ever since I was a kid (but mostly just Lays Dill Chips!). Growing up, I couldn’t get enough of those salty, deep-fried, crispy, tangy bites of processed crap. I needed an intervention.
Fast forward to today, and while I love the idea of cramming a bunch of dill chips into my mouth, I’m not so keen on the idea of MSG or other mystery ingredients that lurk in these foods. I’ll take fresh dill any day.
For some reason though, I don’t buy fresh dill very often (I guess I just don’t know what to use it in!), but I really think I should. I originally planned on making Homemade Dill Chips (adapting the Salt & Vinegar Chip recipe), but I forgot to buy potatoes, so I decided the next best thing would be to make Dill Chip Chickpeas. They turned out wonderful.
Eat your heart out Lays.
[print_this]
Dill Chip Chickpeas
Yield: 2 servings (~2 cups)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, minced with stems removed
- 1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions: Mix all ingredients to taste. Note: I tried roasting the chickpeas, but I preferred the flavour much more before roasting. Eat them on their own or sprinkle them onto salads or wraps for a fresh kick to any lunch.
[/print_this]
I roasted these, but I preferred the flavour before roasting, so next time I will just mix and serve!
I enjoyed it with a rainbow of chopped veggies, sprinkled with dill and lemon, and served with hummus.
It was such a great lunch and it really got me in the Spring mood. 
In home décor news, we finally have something on the walls I can show you.
I picked up this plate-inspired wall décor on sale at Pier 1 last week. I thought it was perfect for the warm colours in our house.
Eric said The Crazy Dish Lady now has dishes on the WALLS and he laughed at me.
I guess he has a point…
Today we are knee deep in taxes (personal and business), bill payments, and I also have a bunch of paperwork to complete. It’s one of those days when you wake up and you realize that you can’t put it off another day longer or two men will show up in dark suits and you’ll never be heard from again.
On a happier note, don’t forget to Spring Forward tonight! Yawhoo!! I have some fun Spring-inspired recipes coming up this week to get you in the mood.
Those flavors look so light and summery! I love it :-)
And the dishes compliment the colors so well! They’re very fall-ey.
Your walls look beautiful! Love the plate decor. :)
Thanks for the cheezy sauce recipe, it sounds delicious!!
Yes – I love to cook with fresh dill, it looks so beautiful as decoration and it tastes good with nearly everything :-)
And I love your wall decoration, I have never seen something like this but it’s stunning! And lastly I love your pictures – they look really professional!
I made barley risotto this week too.
I have been putting the leftovers on salad and
stuffing it inside my omelet at lunch time.
I love leftovers!
Do I spy a future vegan?!?! *cough* eric *cough* ;) Sounds like he’s really been enjoying the vegan food lately!
I TOTALLY LOVE DILL! I put in the salmon burgers I make and I have even made dill humus (it’s delicious btw!)! I love roasted chickpeas to so this will be perfect for me!
Those dishes look great against the green paint colour! Great eye, Ange!! I was more of a salt and vinegar chip fan as a kid but I LOVE dill now and I often mix it into my tuna salads with some plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and black pepper. Normally I don’t buy a lot of fresh herbs because I can never use them up before they go off. These chickpeas sound amazing though, so I think I’ll have to give them a try!
I am in LOVE with fresh dill lately! I made a tahini-dill dressing the other day, and I was licking the spoon it was so good! It’s made me look forward to eating salads every day this week!
Can’t wait to try that “cheesy” risotto– it looks insanely delicious.
i LOVE using fresh dill – Try it in a vegetable soup, tomato based type works best and I use quite a bit in the recipe but go to your own taste. The chickpeas sound great, I cant wait to try them.
Thanks for the tips, will have to try this :)
Love those plates on the wall! So pretty!
I love dill chickpeas! I made them a while ago, and they are divine!
Yum, I loooove dill! Those plates have the perfect colors and textures for that wall. I love it!
Those chickpeas sound so good! It reminds me of something I’ve been making lately–dill hummus! I just throw some dried dill into the mix along with the other ingredients (lemon, garlic, tahini, pepper, cayenne, chickpeas, onion powder, etc.). It’s a really fun way to mix up the hummus routine. I also love cumin hummus.
I have lemon dill hummus on my list this week!
Love these dishes! Been lovin Dill lately too. Will you cook and decorate for me…please!!
Those dilly chickpeas look great! I am a huge fan of roasted chickpeas..
I love your plates too.
My aunt has the same dishes! Did you get them at Pier 1? I am addicted to that store. zomg.
I make baked chickpeas just like this but I use lemon juice in place of the balsamic. I was planning to make a batch of baked chicks tomorrow… I sense dill in my future!
Yup the blue bowl, orange bowl and white plate are from pier 1. :) Loooooove their dishes.
I’d rather have plates on the wall than the enormous poster of Brad Pitt’s head that my housemate once put up… nothing against Brad Pitt, of course, but it didn’t feel very classy to have him in the house in paper form ;)
I love dill but have only ever used it with fish before, so I’m super happy to have a vegan recipe for it on hand :)
haha that is hilarious!
Dill is one of the best things about springing forward! I’m so excited about all of the wonderful ingredients that will be popping up in season very soon:)
Your tomato barley risotto has become a staple for me so I can’t wait to try this variation and those chickpeas sound absolutely delicious. I was also a sucker for Lay’s dill pickle chips when I was younger. :)
Risotto in a Wrap!?! Ok, super impressed by this one Angela- that looks like a wonderful idea <3
MmMMmm and Dill tastes so good! i love it with squash too, like baked kabocha squash, which makes it extra savory tasting :)
xoxo
Great vegan recipes. Hope tax stuff goes well. I am doing my taxes this weekend too. I procrastinated last week and weekend. I decided to do them this weekend because I know if I procrastinated this weekend I would keep putting it off and I just want them to be done and mailed so I do not have to worry about them or be crunched for time.
I have seen that wall plate arrangement at Pier 1 and I love them! The colours work so nice together! And those dill chickpeas looks fantastic. I LOVE DILL