Easy Homemade Hummus

We go through a lot of hummus. It's a great snack that we eat regularly, if not daily. Problem is though, it can get expensive quickly. 

A can of chick peas is cheap and a container of tahini goes a long way. There are a lot of recipes online (most pretty similar) and the ingredients list on our favorite brand is pretty short. One difference between the two is cooked vs uncooked chick peas. We made it both ways. And cooked is definitely what we prefer. It's creamier with more flavor. We add whatever flavors we happened to have a lot of at the time- garlic, jalapenos, hot sauce, onion, etc- and seasonings. Mix it in a food processor/blender or even mash yourself. And that's pretty much it. We usually double the recipe and it lasts anywhere from 1-3 weeks, depending on our carrot supply. We also usually make ours with jalapenos (shocking) but you can substitute with something else or eliminate. 

Ingredients:

- 1 can cooked chick peas

- 2 tablespoons tahini

-  Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, cumin, garlic

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice*

- 1/4 cup jalapenos chopped*

*Sometimes we'll add jalapeno juice instead of lemon juice. 

Recipe:

Cook chick peas (do not drain) on low for about 30 minutes or until soft. Add to blender, or mash yourself (which is easy if cooked enough) until smooth. Add remaining ingredients (add the olive oil slowly to get your preferred consistency). Taste testing is the best method to determine appropriate amount for each ingredient. 

Enjoy with your favorite snacks! 

Spicy Popcorn!

There is a large variety of snacks out there to choose from, including at least fifteen Doritos flavors, five SunChips varieties as well as a lengthy list of potato chips, just to name a few. Regardless of which ever snack you prefer, most are not gluten (or dairy) free.

I'll admit it, I can't complain about not being able to eat most snacks. I would much rather be able to eat fruits and veggies than processed baked goods. Although, that doesn't mean I don't crave a salty or sweet snack every once in a while.

One of the best purchases since our recent move was an $8 popcorn bowl from Target. It's not only healthier to make fresh popped popcorn but also cost efficient. Even after movie nights, making chex mix and occasional snacking, 6 weeks later we're still on our first, small container of kernels.

I was craving a spicy, salty snack and came up with this popcorn. It's now my favorite popcorn, plus it's super easy and quick to make!

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup popcorn kernels

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 2-3 teaspoons Garlic Powder and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes*

- 1-2 tablespoons Franks Red Hot*

- Few dashes of salt*

*Adjust seasonings to taste.

Recipe

Prepare kernels per popcorn maker directions. Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic powder and crushed red pepper in a small bowl, drizzle over the popped kernels and mix with a large spoon. Microwave for 45 seconds and mix, repeat 1x. Next, add a few dashes of Franks Red Hot over popcorn, mix and then microwave for another 45 seconds. Mix one final time, allow to cool and enjoy!

Yum!

Avoiding Sneaky Gluten- Chex Mix

Homemade Chex Mix is a delicious and easy GF snack that most people enjoy. It's my go-to snack to bring to tailgates, weekend trips and even to work. I prefer salty over sweet, especially because there is usually crushed red pepper involved.

Chex Cereal offers a large list of recipes, even a lot of GF options. I have followed a few but recently have adopted my own. It's easier, faster and more specific to what I like. It's also easily adaptable to add gluten items such as pretzels and cheez-its, I usually make a few batches of each GF and gluten filled.

I tend to use the microwave to prepare it, I don't have the patience for the baking option. The first time I made Chex Mix I baked it and I can't tell a difference between the two cooking options. Using the microwave to prepare it takes less time and allows me to add more seasoning if I need to.

I use a small mixing bowl and the largest bowl or tupperware container I have appropriate for my microwave. In the small bowl, I mix about 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin and a few splashes of hot sauce. Sometimes I'll add a few splashes of worcestershire sauce. The amount of hot sauce and red pepper flakes depends on the crowd that will be eating this particular batch.

I've found that layering each ingredient helps to ensure equal covering of the seasoning. I usually start with the cereal and lay down a layer in the bowl/tupperware and drizzle a portion of the seasoning mix throughout, mix with a large spoon, and then repeat with additional layers. My order of sequence is usually cereal, pop-corn and then nuts. I do the nuts last because they usually end up at the bottom.

I use rice or corn cereal, I don't have a preference, and fresh popped pop-corn. It's hard to find store bought pop-corn without butter. Fresh popped cuts down the calories and preservatives.  I also use a store bought mix of peanuts, almonds, cashews and brazilian nuts. It's easier to buy one thing and allow for a variety of nuts versus just having peanuts, almonds, etc or having to buy multiple kinds of nuts (which can get expensive).

Once all the ingredients are in the bowl and the seasoning is mixed in, I microwave it for a minute at a time. I repeat this about 3-4 times, mixing in between. I'll check to make sure the seasoning appears to be equally coated and mixed throughout, if not then I add more to it. Allow the Chex Mix to cool for a few hours, maybe sample a few pieces to make sure there is enough garlic and spice, and then enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 4 cups Chex Mix
- 3 cups popped pop-corn
- Nuts
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Seasoning: red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin
- Few splashes hot sauce
- Few splashes worcestershire sauce (optional)

Kale Chips

Spinach has always been my green leafy vegetable of choice. I had leftover kale from a quinoa dish I made. I googled different ways to cook kale and sauteed, stewed and baked were amongst the popular options.

I was intrigued by the idea of kale chips. They ended up being extremely easy to make and surprisingly very delicious. I will think twice about buying regular potato chips again (maybe a little dramatic, but they were that good).

Ingredients:

- One bunch of fresh kale

- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

- 1/2 tbsp salt and pepper

Recipe:

We washed and cut the stems off the kale and chopped the leaves into small pieces (about an inch in size). We mixed the chopped kale and olive oil in a bowl, making sure to lightly coat each piece. Next, we added the seasonings and mixed thoroughly. We spread the seasoned kale on a cookie sheet and baked at 275, turning a few times, for about 20 minutes. We allowed them to cool for a few minutes and then they were gone!