Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole

Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole

When I received my crockpot one of the first things I did was search “easy crockpot recipes”.  I immediately found “SUPER EASY CHICKPEA, BROWN RICE & BROCCOLI CROCKPOT CASSEROLE” by Alexis. 

According to her website she is a “Registered Dietitian and whole foods enthusiast”.  I love her site and I will try this weekend her “Super Easy Mexican Crockpot Casserole” and later “Slow Cooker Curried Butternut Chili”. Easy instructions as I do not like complicated.

Below is her recipe for Super Easy Chickpea, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup long-grain brown rice
  • 2½ cups vegetable broth
  • 1-15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
  • 1-12 oz. package of frozen broccoli
  • ½ medium onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1-5.3 oz. container plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more, to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place rice, vegetable broth, chickpeas, broccoli, onion, garlic and salt in a 5 qt. slow cooker. Cook on high (covered) for 2 to 2½ hours, or until rice is cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed.
  2. Turn off crock-pot. Stir in Greek yogurt and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I have never met Alexis but would like to thank her for the above recipe.  Seriously I would not have been able to figure out alone how well the ingredients worked with each other.  It has given me ideas and I give credit where credit is due.

This was the second time I made this recipe.  In both cases the cooking time was precisely three hours.  This time I used one 15 oz. package of Fig Food Co. Chickpeas instead of a can as it has less sodium.  I also used pink Himalayan salt instead of regular salt.

I have a tendency to mix brown rice and lentils together.  I decided to use the left over vegetable broth to make lentils.  I use Daily Pantry Medley of Lentils.  The instructions calls for two cups of water to cook the lentils in, I had exactly two cups of leftover vegetable broth.  It took longer for the liquid to absorb but it worked.

After three hours when the Super Easy Chickpea, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole was completed I added the lentils above into the crockpot for another 30 minutes.  I then turned off the crockpot and stirred in the yogurt and cheese.  Below is a picture of “Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole.”

The original recipe makes for four servings, I wanted more for the work week.  The lentils made it happen and I was glad to use up the leftover vegetable broth.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alanzibluk.com
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws

PS:  I was here before Dr. Oz.

 

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member