HELP ME! A Recipe Fail

Around here, sometimes there is chaos, sometimes I get paint on my clothes, sometimes the kids go to bed late, and sometimes I make something that is yucky.

I’ve had recipe fails in the past, but this one is really bothering me, and here’s why:
1.) The recipe itself was easy.
2.) Everyone else on the planet seems to like this kind of food.
3.) I think I have ruined this food for my family.
4.) It is healthy, so I thought it would be something I could add to our weekly snack routine.
5.) It looked so beautiful and tasty, we had such high hopes.

I made roasted chickpeas with Italian seasoning, which I have now dubbed Erin’s Horrible Chickpeas.

Maybe after hearing some backstory, some of my readers could tell me what went wrong.

The other day, I was digging through the pantry for some cannellini beans to make a recipe that I’m hoping to share next week and came across a random can of chickpeas. I had the (what at the time seemed like a brilliant) idea of making roasted chickpeas. They at one time were all the rage and recipes were floating all over the internet and Food Network. I think Rachael Ray has like 10 different ways to make them.

I quickly Googled “how long to roast chickpeas” on my phone and started preheating the oven.

Then, I grabbed the salt, pepper, olive oil, and Italian seasoning. Here is what I jotted down while I was making them, I even took pictures (thinking there is no way these won’t be great).

Erin’s Horrible Roasted Chickpeas

1 15 oz can chickpeas
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse and drain chickpeas.

Then using paper towel thoroughly pat them dry and remove any loose shells.

Place chickpeas in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Add olive oil to the baking sheet and with your hands gently toss until the chickpeas are completely coated with oil.

Then, add the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste,  and toss to coat the chickpeas.

Roast for 20  minutes tossing once halfway through the cooking time.

Don’t they looked delicious?

We all tried them.

They just seemed… blah. They didn’t seem to have enough seasoning, and I thought they would be more crunchy or something. Brian said they were blah too. So then, I thought it was just us. Then the kids tried them and they each expressed various ways to say they didn’t like them. Words like, “these are yucky,” “ewwwww”, and “please don’t make me eat these anymore” were said.

What did I do wrong? Is it possible that all 5 of us don’t like these or did I not make them correctly? Should I try different seasonings? I read to try different variations like a ranch dressing seasoning packet, chili powder, or fresh herbs. Should I cook them longer?

If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comment section. In the meantime, I’m staying away from chickpeas.