Hummus

I am so obsessed hummus, you have no idea. I will go spend $8 for a pint of it at Zoe's Kitchen because it is literally the best hummus I have ever had. Thank goodness their original and red pepper hummus is vegan! Anyway, after spending a million dollars at Zoe's, I realized that I could buy a container of tahini and make plenty of my own for a lot cheaper (It's not going to stop me from eating at Zoe's kitchen anytime soon though!). Here is my copycat recipe for hummus. 

Ingredients

• 1 15oz can of chick peas (water included)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 drops of tabasco
• 1 tsp kalamata olive juice
• juice of one lemon
• 3 kalamata olives to garnish
• paprika as garnish 

Mix all the ingredients (minus the olives and paprika) in the food processor until completely smooth. This might take some stirring. My food processor couldn't get the job done so I had to finish blending it with my soup blender. If your mixture is too dry, add a little water at a time until it reaches your desired moistness. I like mine pretty moist so I added a good bit. Place into a container and top with kalamata olives and paprika. Refrigerate and enjoy! 

Quick and Easy Fresh Salsa

My husband and I are salsa freaks. We absolutely love it. One of our "tricks" or things that we've done forever is that we go out and buy pints of salsa from Mexican restaurants to use in our meals during the week. This was affordable where we lived before. However the nearest restaurant to us sells theirs for $6 - that's about four dollars more than we were paying before. I decided it was time to figure out how to make it myself. I am SO glad I tried it out. With a little help from my sister in law and some "pinteresting," I came up with this recipe.  We made this salsa the other night and it was GONE. I'm still thinking about it. Yum.

Ingredients

• 1 32 oz can of tomatoes, drained 
• 1 jalepeno (cut off the top)
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic  
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large bunch of fresh cilantro 
• juice of one lime 

All ingredients go in the food processor. When everything is well incorporated, taste for flavor satisfaction, tweak accordingly and immediately stick in the fridge.