Diet Friendly Fast Food

When I first started blogging I probably thought everyone loved Chickpeas (also called Garbanzo Beans) as much as I do, but now I realize some of you aren't all that enthused about these ultra-nutritious beans.  If you're one of those people who's not especially a chickpea fan, I hope you'll trust me when I  promise that this Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Pesto is truly amazing.  Hanging out in the slow cooker with the spicy turkey Italian sausage and tomatoes makes the chickpeas creamy and full of flavor.  And the seasonings in this recipe are perfect, with the addition of a small amount of the pesto at the end a flavor-boosting way to finish the dish.  If you try it I bet you will like it, but if I can't convince you that this combination with chickpeas is really, really good, I hope you'll try this recipe with another type of beans!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this recipe for Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese is something I've made over and over.  It's also been one of the most popular recipes on the blog for a while now; hope you enjoy if you haven't tried it yet!)

For several weeks now I've been keeping an eye on the basil plants in my garden, hoping to get one more batch of pesto in the freezer before the plants started to freeze.  For the last few days the leaves were starting to look a little brown on the edges, so today I trimmed the plants vigorously and made a big batch of pesto.  Then I made this Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese!

(Updated November 2013 - One of the best things about blogging is the amazing way that people you'll never meet in person can touch your life in the virtual world. This week the food blogging community was stunned and saddened to learn about the death of Lisa Cifelli, co-founder of The Daring Bakers, who died at the far-too-young age of 44.  Through The Daring Bakers, Lis encouraged others to challenge themselves with amazing recipes for baked creations of every type, and her enthusiasm and generosity was part of the reason this blogging event eventually had thousands of contributors every month.  I was never a Daring Baker, but I enjoyed following along each month as the bakers shared their posts, and I "knew" Lis through other events like the one featured below.  She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, and I'm dedicating this post to her memory.)  

My Italian is pretty basic, although I studied it a bit when I was going to be traveling to Italy, and I'm learning ingredient names from my great friend Ilva's blog. But I know enough Italian to guess that Festa al Fresco means something like a feast of fresh ingredients. So when I heard Ivonne of Creampuffs in Venice and Lis of La Mia Cucina were hosting La Festa al Fresco, I was excited about participating in the biggest virtual food bloggers picnic ever.