Hummus and Homemade Pita Chips

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Monday is my 30th birthday. Yep. 30. That being said, I wanted to put a little extra effort into celebrating this year. So I decided to have a small 30th birthday party for myself (with the help of my fiance Rich) at my house. And since I absolutely love Greek food that was my catering of choice. Only problem is that throwing a small party on a budget when you decide to cater the meal is quite difficult - especially in NY. What I ended up doing was ordering the large staple items from the caterer and made the rest myself (i.e. Hummus and Pita chips).

An order of hummus at the particular greek restaurant I chose was $22 and who knows if that even included pita! Two (2) cans of garbanzo beans at $0.75 each cost me only $1.50, 2 packs of whole wheat pita bread at $0.99 each, and a container of Tahini ($5) brings my total to $8.50 for this delicious appetizer. That's a savings of $13.50! Of course I had the rest of the ingredients in my pantry.

Making hummus and pita chips is super easy. If you don't have a food processor you can always use a blender. And you can totally get creative with the seasoning you put on your chips. I like to keep it simple with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and garlic powder. For sure these will be a big hit tomorrow at my party.

Homemade Hummus

makes 8 servings - prep time: 15 minutes - cook time: none

Ingredients:

  • 2 (15 oz) cans of Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
  • 1/4 liquid from can of chickpeas
  • 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons of Tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (2 cloves)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • dash of paprika and olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid for later use.
  2. Combine ingredients in a blender of food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas and blend until smooth and thoroughly mixed.
  3. Place in a serving bowl. Garnish with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and a dash of paprika.
  4. Serve with homemade pita chips.
  5. Store in refrigerator covered for up to 2 weeks.

 

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Baked Whole Grain Pita Chips

makes 4-6 servings - prep time: 10 minutes - cook time: 14 min.

Ingredients: 

  • 4 pitas, whole wheat or white
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • dash of pepper
  • dash of salt

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  2. Stack pitas and cut in half. Cut in half again and then in half again so that you get small chips.
  3. Place pita slices on baking sheet so they are not overlapping. Pour olive oil over the top. Then mix the pita slices around with your hands making sure each chip is coated with oil.
  4. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on top and mix again with your hands to make sure each chip is seasoned.
  5. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove pan and flip each chip. Bake for another 7 minutes. Let cool on tray for 10 minutes before serving.
  6. Store in airtight container.