Chickpea Marinara Sauce

Last night was the first night in a while that we had no plans other than to stay in for a home cooked meal.  I have mentioned many times before that my husband is still a meat and potatoes guy, so that means for a homecooked meal, I need to make two... yay?  He requested one of his all-time favorite meals: mashed potatoes with chicken strips and broccoli.  I though potatoes sounded pretty good too, but I opted to have a baked yam instead.  To top my yam off, I decided to make this yummy marinara sauce that is partially homemade.

To cook the sweet potato, heat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Wash your potato of choice (russet, golden, or sweet potatoes will work perfectly too), and peirce some holes with a fork throughout.  Wrap each potato in foil (no oil needed!) and place in the oven.  Set the timer for 30 minutes and flip.  Check on the potato after 30 more minutes if it is done.  Mine usually take 1 hour, but time will depend on your oven and the size of your potato.

Chickpea Marinara Sauce
Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:
        1/4 onion, finely chopped
        2 cloves garlic, pressed
        1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
        1- 16 oz can marinara pasta sauce of your choice
        1- 16 oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added if you can find it
        1+1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, or 1- 16 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
        1 Tbsp no salt seasoning

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, water saute the onion and garlic.  Once the onion and garlic become fragrant and slightly translucent, add the chopped mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
3. Serve over a baked potato or whole wheat pasta.  You can top with fresh parsley, green onion, nutritional yeast, black olives, or any other toppings you desire.

Amy's Notes:

This sauce turned out nicely thick to top a baked potato perfectly.  You could also top any type of whole wheat pasta or whole grain.  I bet this would be great on top of barley.  The nice thing about this sauce is that it ends up with that homemade feel, without having to make a tomato sauce from scratch.  Since it has one can of (no salt) diced tomatoes to one can of marinara sauce, it is going to have a lot less sodium than just a jar of pasta sauce.