Hummus

I love hummus!  I have had months where I make this recipe at least every other week.  It is so easy to make once you have the basic ingredients on hand.  Homemade hummus beats store bought any day of the week.  You can take it to work for lunch with some veggies or throw it on a pita with sandwich meat.  It is healthy so you do not feel guilty eating the whole batch in one sitting!  

It tastes great to dip pita chips into it, but since that is not gluten free I mainly use veggies.  Don't be fooled by the bell peppers in the picture below.  I still detest them!  I only sliced them up for our guests.

Hummus

Source:  Southern Living Quick and Easy Cookbook (a must have!)

Ingredients:

• 1 19 oz can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained  (Trader Joe's can is slightly smaller then 19 oz, but still works great in this recipe)
• 1/4 cup tahini (also known as sesame paste, kinda looks like peanut butter.  It keeps well in the refrigerator for a long time.)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 2-3 lemons)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (also known as cayenne pepper)
• 1 shallot, quartered
• 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce (or regular if that is all you have on hand)

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.