Recipe for Hummus and Pita Chips

Everyone has heard the term, "don't try this at home" well, I am asking you to try this at home and anything else you can get your hands on to try at home. It's so much cheaper and better for you. I decided to make some homemade hummus and pita chips today. We had some leftover pita bread that was getting old so I sliced it up into triangles and sprayed Pam on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 375 degrees until crunchy. Add a touch of salt when they are out of the oven while cooling. Delicious!

There is nothing better than homemade foods as far as I'm concerned because you can monitor how much oil and salt is used. I use either a kosher salt or sea salt because the taste is more bold and believe it or not on the average each teaspon is 500 milligrams less sodium than regular table salt. Adding lemon juice gives it an even bolder taste. To me there is nothing better than taking a bite of food and tasting every ingredient. Honestly, what would you prefer, a banana in it's purest form or a banana flavored pudding? I'd go for the banana. Speaking of bananas I bought a big bag of ripened bananas so I'll be making banana nut bread this week. Stay tuned for the recipe and pictures.

Hummus is one of the more popular Middle Eastern dips. Served with fresh or toasted pita bread, hummus makes for a great snack or appetizer. Tahini is an important part of the hummus recipe and cannot be substituted. However, it can be omitted. For the hummus I used garbanzo beans, roasted red peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic clove and a touch of salt. It turns out really nicely and it is so cheap to make. The texture is creamy and the color is a beautiful reddish yellow. I sprinkled the letter R with paprika on top, but you can use parsley, pine nuts, a mound of diced red peppers just to name a few toppings.

My pantry is full of garbanzo beans, black beans and corn so I can make hummus and tortilla soup in minutes. After eating soup at home, it's really hard to go back to canned soups. I think I blogged about my tortilla soup once before, it should be in the archive, but if it is not, feel free to email me.

Recipe for Hummus

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1 jar of roasted red peppers

1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus. Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional). Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.