Before heading to the grocery store, I like to scour my pantry and refrigerator for anything I can use to throw together one last meal. Curried chickpeas and rice is a favorite pantry-purging meal of mine. You can use any root vegetable of your choice, and season it how you like- it’s an easy, versatile, one-pot meal.

I N G R E D I E N T S *

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• Seasoning to taste (I used curry, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper)
• 2 cups of rice, uncooked
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• 2 cups of water

*I also like to use white wine for some of the liquids and add garlic when I have it on hand.

M E T H O D

Heat up some olive oil in a deep pan (that has a lid), and saute the diced potatoes and chopped onions (and garlic at the end, if you’re using it). After the onions carmelize a bit, dump in the rest of your ingredients, stir to combine, and put a lid on it. Let the pot simmer on low for about 45 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid.

Before I go grocery shopping every week, I check out my recent delicious Pinterest finds and make sure I add their ingredients to my grocery list. Sometimes the end result is shrug-worthy, or drool-worthy but horribly unhealthy, while other times I am heralded as the best wife ever for producing the perfect meal or treat that I can, in good conscience (most of the time), make again and again. Here are my recent favorite recipes I’ve tried, after finding them on Pinterest. Interested in trying out recipes I’ve pinned? Check out my sweet board here, and my savory board here.

• Weight Watcher’s Chocolate Banana Crepes via Gimme Some Ven! (pinned here)
• Half-way to Heaven Peanut Butter Cookies via Broma Bakery (pinned here)
•  Pesto Oricchiette with Chicken Sausage via Real Simple (pinned here)
• Low-Carb Enchilada Bake via Dashing Dish (pinned here)

Click here for more of my Pinterest food faves!

Kicking off a brand new blog feature here at Making Nice in the Midwest, I have with me a very dear friend, Miss Catherine Bules- maker of this mad herbal martini that I can’t wait to enjoy once this baby’s out of my belly! If you’ve been reading here for a while, you might remember Catherine from her surprise birthday party , her initiation of the All-Friends-Thanksgiving tradition, or perhaps that time she dressed up as Lumpy Space Princess! My little group of friends enjoys experimenting with drink mixing, so I thought it would be fun if Catherine kicks off this new “Guest Bartender” series with a fresh drink perfect for Summertime. (Oh, and I did try a tiny sip- it was surprising in all the right florally ways!)

• 7-10 full-sized fresh basil leaves (dried basil will not do)
• 1/4 cup dried lavender (you may use fresh lavender too)
• 1 T honey, or a one inch square of honeycomb.
• 1 fresh squeezed lemon (2 if you like it a bit more citrusy)
• 2/3 C of gin
• 1/3 C of vermouth
• ice cubes