The Flying Vegetable!: Germelli Swiss Chard and Chick Peas

Alright, so first and foremost I would like to thank all who took a peek at yesterday's post. I was shocked and thrilled with how many of you took a look and sent me a private message to offer feedback, both good and bad. I am also happy to hear that a good bit of you will be trying the lasagna recipe for dinner tonight. That being said, hopefully this next recipe will provide you with an idea for dinner tomorrow night even if you decide to modify the recipe a bit.

Since we are on the topic of modifications, I beg that any suggestions for changing the recipes, please post the changes that you made to the comment section so we can all try. Don't hoard your culinary prowess to yourself, you selfish jerk, share it with us all.

Now that the little bit of housekeeping is taken care of, on to bigger and better things, like tonight's recipe. So this meal was born out of an idea from a magazine, mixed with a little trial and error, and sprinkled with a whole ton of, what the heck do we have lying around that can be thrown in the skillet. As with last night's recipe this one is REALLY easy. As matter of fact, if you can boil water, use a knife safely, and operate a fancy contraption called a can opener, you can make this meal. If you cannot use a knife safely, this meal, which is already loaded with protein becomes a protein dynamo with the addition of your forefinger. And now this conversation has devolved, forget it, LET'S DISH already, family members are getting hungry!

Suggested Music on Spotify: John Coltrane because it's gonna get jazzy up in here

Suggested Beverage: A light red wine like a Pinot Noir. Please make sure you have a couple of beers ready for when you realize, I'm drinking Pinot, why oh why am I drinking a Pinot?!?

Suggested Kitchen Dance: Jazz Dance. We are listening to Coltrane, right? If you don't know what a jazz dance is, see below video... There was NO WAY I was filming myself doing that!

Ingredients:

8oz (half a box) of germelli pasta

1 small bunch of swiss chard chopped to 1 inch pieces ( Any color will do, but red chard makes it look purdy)

1 15 oz can of chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans, a.k.a. Jimmy "the garbanzo" Beans)

3 Tbs. Olive Oil

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup pistachio's shelled

1/4 cup of sesame seeds

1 Tbs. crushed red pepper flakes (Spicy!!!)

3 Tbs. grated Locatelli Cheese (My wife wanted me to tell you that if you substitute this with parmesan cheese in a can, she will personally come to your house and slap you. Trust me, there is not enough baby powder on God's green earth that will soften that blow)

Directions:

1. Cook germelli pasta according to package instructions

2. Heat 3 Tbs. of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.

3. Add chickpeas and cook until they begin to make a popping sound.

- Note: They actually "pop" out of the pan sometimes, so don't be an idiot and stick you face over the skillet during this step.

4. Once chickpeas begin to pop, add the pistachios and sesame seeds and cook in skillet for an additional 5 minutes, stirring the nuts and chickpeas around frequently.

5. Add swiss chard to the chickpeas and nuts and saute for another 8-10 minutes or until chard reduces in size by half and softens.

6. Drain germelli and place in a serving dish. Add swiss chard mixture to the germelli and toss together.

7. Sprinkle with Locatelli