New month's resolution

It seems I'm a little late to the party with my New Year's resolutions this year. Maybe it was being away for the first week of 2011, or just recently readjusting to our schedule and time zone here, who knows. The point is, I just paid my credit card bill, looked at my bank account, and decided I want to do a whole lot more home cooking. Like instead of going out for meals, even just fast food.

The one thing everyone looks for in a great dinner to add to the rotation is actually three things: easy, cheap, and healthy. And tasty. Four things. And people, do I have ideas for you! Some of them come from my favourite cookbooks, others from blogs, and still others are experiments. I'd like to share them over the next month or so, doled out in bi-weekly servings. So as not to infringe on copyright, any recipes I post here will include my own modifications.

Here's my first offering: Spinach and Chickpeas
Great for: appetizer, lunch, dinner, potluck
Qualifies as: easy, cheap, healthy, tasty and toddler-tested (by this, I mean that I've fed it to baby D and she liked it)
Serves: 4

Recipe source: smittenkitchen.com

½ lb spinach, washed
3 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 can chickpeas (19 oz), drained
680mL tomato sauce (I use Primo pasta sauce)

Cook spinach in oil til tender; remove from pan and drain in colander

Mix together in still-hot pan: garlic, cumin, pepper flakes, vinegar and paprika. Cook for a minute

Add cooked spinach, tomato sauce and chick peas, and heat through

Serve with toast, nachos or warm flatbread.