Money saving yummy hummus

So we eat a lot of hummus in this house.

Since we stay mostly vegetarian at home, I'm always conscious of the kids getting enough protein (I recently did a check, and they should be getting 12 grams a day. They get that by lunch!)

We eat hummus once a day on average. Jack eats it in celery and on small pieces of whole wheat tortilla. Nate eats hummus wraps and does a lot of dipping of carrots & other veggies.

As I picked up yet another five dollar family container of hummus, I took a look at the ingredients and decided to try making the darn stuff myself. It just didn't look that complicated. And guess what? It's really not complicated. And my favorite part is that it's yet another recipe where you can throw in whatever you have laying around that sounds yummy.

To start, you need a big can of chickpeas (you can save money by buying dried or on sale, but it'll be $2 at most), olive oil (probably about $.30 worth), lemon juice (about $.25 worth), and tahini if you want (about $.75 worth if you're using the urber organic fancy kind from Whole Foods. Probably cheaper elsewhere). In this recipe, I also roasted a few heads of garlic and used some chives from last year that I discovered growing in the backyard. Tough little guys!



I've tried this in a blender. Don't do it. It doesn't have enough force. Finally gave the food processor a whirl (get it?) after a recommendation from a neighbor and it turned out beautifully. Best hummus ever.



Put in the big can of chickpeas, some squeezes of lemon juice, and about 6 tablespoons of tahini. Put the lid on and start it up. Through the top chute, slowly add olive oil until it gets to the consistency you want. Don't flinch when you're adding in the olive oil - it's so good for you! Once it's all blended, add in any herbs you want, give it one last mix and start eating!

Jack actually said "mmmmmmm" at his first taste. That's as good as it gets.