Hummus at Home

First of all, if you have not discovered the deliciousness of hummus, you are missing out. This spread is made of ground chickpeas and is pretty much wonderful on anything you can think of. I love mine on raw veggies if I'm feeling particularly angelic, or on pita chips, sandwiches...whatever. I discovered hummus when I ventured down the road of the South Beach Diet way back in the day, and I've loved it ever since.

The only thing about hummus is that it's a little expensive. I've seen it made on Food Network enough times to know it isn't rocket science, but it does require a specialty ingredient called tahini. I'm not big on buying specialty ingredients, so I resigned myself to a life of storebought hummus.

Until I came up with this version.

Mine uses toasted sesame seeds instead of the tahini, which is a sesame paste (kind of like peanut butter). And all in all, it takes about 5 minutes to make, zero chopping, and it costs less than your storebought friends.

So without further adieu...

Basic Hummus
Makes 1 1/3 cups

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained (reserve about 3 tablespoons of the liquid)
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• one lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• a dash of cayenne pepper (or you can feel free to omit)
• 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  

Cooking Directions

• Dump first six ingredients (including reserved liquid from can of chickpeas) into your food processor. Pulse until everything is pretty finely chopped.
• Scrape down the sides of your food processor (or blender) and add olive oil. Blend for 1 minute, until everything is smooth. If you like a thinner hummus, feel free to add more olive oil here.
  
• Continue blending until you have a smooth, dippable (or spreadable) hummus.
  
• Refrigerate overnight for best taste, but feel free to enjoy some right then.

I've seen about nineteen different types of hummus at the grocery store, so you could definitely experiment here... I'm thinking that my next version will be roasted red pepper hummus. But the original is certainly great!

Quiche

I know what you're thinking. Quiche? Quiche? That's exactly what my husband thought, but he ate his questions when he scarfed down dinner last night.

I don't blame him.

The last one I made was a wet, soggy mess that never really set up. And honestly, it didn't taste like much. But for this one, I wisened up... and we were delighted with the results. And let me just say that this could easily be a leftover use-up meal. Substitute any meat and any vegetable (that would within reason taste good together), and you have yourself a new dinner.

Anyway, I think you should give this quiche a chance. Really!

Broccoli, Chicken, and Cheese Quiche
Serves 6-8 (tastes great as leftovers)

• 1 rolled, refrigerated pie crust (these are near the biscuits at my Publix)
• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped into very small florets and steamed
• 1 cup of cooked chicken, diced or shredded
• 4 pieces of bacon (I used turkey bacon), cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup half and half (I used fat free, but I am sure that it would taste even better with the "real deal")
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Cooking Directions

• Unroll pie crust and press into pie pan. Prebake your crust according to package directions. Mine was at 450 for about 8 minutes. Watch it carefully! Take it out of the oven and allow to cool a little bit, then cover the edge of your crust with foil. This will keep it from burning (but be careful not to burn your fingers!). Kick your oven down to 350.
• Combine broccoli, chicken, and bacon in a medium bowl. Pour into baked pie crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle cheese over this mixture.
• In that same bowl, beat eggs with half & half, salt, and pepper. Pour eggs over veggie and cheese mixture. Make sure not to overflow your pie crust!
• Return quiche to the oven (now set on 350) and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until eggs are set and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Allow to rest 5-10 minutes. Slice carefully, and serve with soup or salad... but the quiche is meal in itself!