Homemade Hummus

My recent favorite snack is

 

Sabra Hummus (I like them all but prefer roasted red pepper.) This stuff is SO good.

On 

Stacy's Simply Naked Sea Salt Baked Pita Chips.

The problem with this is that both items are $3.99 at the grocery store. $8 a week for a snack of hummus and pita.... (Yes, I do remember the $20 a gallon Eggnog. It's my blog though. I get to pick and  choose.) I usually cave and buy them anyway. Then I feel guilty because for $8 I could buy yogurt for the week or a pork roast or a bag of Wegman's Belize shrimp. 

Today I thought about the fact that I have a perfectly good Hummus recipe that takes minutes to whip up and is really great. And the fact that I already had everything at home to make this. (I did buy the chips though. Perhaps next week I'll downgrade to regular pita....)

I got the recipe from a Lebanese man that I worked with. His wife would make big batches of it for special events and people always loved it. 

Hummus

1 Can Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas) rinsed. You can (and I have) make this even cheaper by buying dried beans and cooking those before making this but since I'm offering you a replacement to a store bought convienience product I'm not going to turn you off by making you start by soaking your beans the night before. A can will do just fine.

Juice 1/2 Lemon. Or, 2TBSP lemon (I like fresh but we always have a bottle of lemon juice just in case.)

2 Cloves Garlic-Just cut it up a little, it's all going in your food processor anyway. I like a little more.

2 TBSP Tahini. It's sesame paste. You can't make good hummus without it. You just cannot. The first time you make Hummus you'll be cursing me because the jar is $5. You'll be thinking that you could just buy hummus for $4. However, you can make A LOT of Hummus with a jar of tahini. And it lasts a long time. 

1 tsp Cumin-Also a requirement for good hummus. I actually like a little more than this but this is a good starting point. 

2 tsp salt 

The key here is to process all of these ingredients in a food processor or blender until it is VERY smooth. It will take you longer than you think. You can add a little water or olive oil if you think it needs a little extra wetness to get things moving. I'm only talking like 2-3TBSP though.

You can get all crazy and add  extras like roasted red pepper or roasted garlic but it's really good just like it is.