Have you ever cooked dried beans before? Not much different than other dried beans.
Basically soak them overnight, drain water, then add water to cover by an inch or so. You can cook them in a crockpot during the day or cook them on the stove for about 2 hours (not sure of exact time)
Don't let the chickpeas scare you because they take so long to cook. Other dried beans take much less time, so please experiment. Hey- they are SO cheap. Some people add a touch of baking soda when doing chick peas to help break them down. Anyone do that?
My mother pulverizes dry garbanzo beans in a food mill. She makes a seasoned "flour" and uses it as a coating for grilled fish or grilled zucchini. It's good.
I like using cooked beans in cold salads with raw shredded beets and carrots, celery and red onions, with an olive oil and lemon dressing. And hummus is a big favorite at my house as well.
You might want to Google "Indian chickpea recipes". They're used a lot in Indian cuisine.