Wishing you a wonderful Sunday, whether you are celebrating Easter or just a day with family.

I have a new infatuation with chickpeas. It was this salad that did it to me. Before making that, I generally avoided chickpeas in their native form. Sure, I like them all mashed up in garlicky hummus, but individual chickpeas? Not so much.

Chickpeas are standard salad bar fare, and that is essentially how I’ve always thought of them. I never really understood the point of sprinkling a few chickpeas over an iceberg lettuce salad. They seemed unnecessary, superfluous. Boring, even. So I ignored them.

But I have seen the light. Canned chickpeas have become a new staple in my pantry. Granted, I’m the only one who eats them, but that’s okay. I’m also the only one who eats tomatoes. My family does not know what they’re missing, on both counts.

Which means this gorgeous salad was all for me.

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Chickpea Salad with Feta and Herbs

Ingredients:

1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine chickpeas, sliced cherry tomatoes, mint and basil.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil and red wine vinegar until combined. Pour over chickpeas and toss together. Add feta cheese and toss gently. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

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Other chickpea recipes you might like:

• Aggie’s Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Sauteed Chickpeas and Spinach.
• Jessica’s Toasty Parmesan Chickpea Salad.
• Roasted Garbanzos from Denise.
• Jennie’s Mango Hummus.

Last week I mentioned that I was challenged to come up with some tips to help bring special occasion dinners – like Easter dinner – to a new level. And Easter? It’s right around the corner.

Like in…oh, four days.

If you’re not quite ready – and seriously, who is? – maybe I can help you out with these tips. Now, they won’t plan out your four course dinner menu, and they won’t bake your ham for you. And don’t expect them to help you with the clean up. Seriously – you made the mess, you clean it up. What they might do, though, is help you turn an ordinary holiday dinner into a more extraordinary one.

Tip 1:

To transform your every-day dinner table for special occasions, simply add a white tablecloth and cloth napkins. Be sure they are machine-washable. When Uncle Jim leaves bits of glazed ham and stray cheese-covered macaroni over his corner of the table, you don’t want to stress out about it.

Tip 2:

A pretty white or blue bowl filled with fresh lemons makes an easy centerpiece that doesn’t go to waste when the meal is over. You can put those lemons to use later when you make a batch of my lemon bars.

Tip 3:

When you don’t have time to bake the dinner rolls yourself, serve Stone Baked Artisan Rolls from Pepperidge Farm to your guests. The flavor and texture of these French rolls rival any homemade dinner roll, and you can have them in your bread basket in about ten minutes after taking them out of the freezer.

And, thanks to all the tips I collected from all of YOU very wise readers – both here and on Facebook and Twitter – here are several more that can help to jazz up your holiday dinner.

• Make as much as possible in advance – and even set the table the day before – so that you can enjoy the quality time with your family instead of doing last minute prep.
• Recruit family members to help, whether by bringing a favorite dish, setting the table, pouring the drinks, or helping with clean-up.
• Start a tradition. Pull out heirloom china or table linens, start a special holiday toast, or make a new holiday dish that will be destined to become a favorite and always associated with that holiday.
• Honor your family’s culture and heritage in a special, traditional way. Whether you celebrate Easter or Passover (or neither!), whether your family comes from Italy, Greece, Eastern Europe, or Alabama, your heritage is worth passing on and sharing with younger generations. Holiday meal times are great opportunities to do this.

{Disclaimer: Pepperidge Farm provided me with compensation for this project and this post as part of their Ready, Set, Elevate! Campaign. My opinions, however, are completely my own and always will be.}