Roasted chickpeas - aka crack beans!

Oh how I love snacks.  I could make a whole meal of things that don't require silverware (cutlery for my Canadian friends!).  Unfortunately, most snacks are full of crappy ingredients and come in disposable packaging.  No thanks.

That is why making your own snacks is great - you control the ingredients and you can put them in reusable containers.  Win win!

And today?  Today, I have a really yummy snack that might soon become your new favorite.  It's healthy, it's delicious - it's the smoky crack bean!

Smoky crispy chickpeas/garbanzo beans
Garbanzo beans/chickpeas
1-2 tblsp smoked paprika
sprinkle sea salt
olive oil
lemon juice
3+ cloves of garlic

1) You can just open 1-2 cans of garbanzo beans and drain them overnight.  I put dried beans in water in the morning, and then cooked them in chicken broth in the crock pot overnight.  In the morning, I drained them for an hour and then put them in a shallow pan to dry out in the fridge overnight.

2) In a mixing bowl, toss the beans with olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, garlic, and a squirt of lemon juice.

3) Heat a cast iron skillet in a 400 degree oven.  Put the beans in the skillet and bake until crispy.  Toss every 20-30 minutes.  It took me about 90 minutes total until these were as crispy as I desired.

4) Remove from the oven, and scoop on to a plate lined with phone book sheets or newspaper (save money on paper towels!).

5) Enjoy!  Please note, #5 is the most important step.