Hi Everyone and Happy Friday the 13th. Oh scary day!!!
Even though it is Friday the 13th, I am just so glad it’s Friday! This has been a tiring week for me. Between the heat, work and the smoke from the fire on Mt. Diablo, it has been exhausting! What’s kind of stinky this week, is that it has been so hot, my Husband tells me NOT to turn the oven on. I don’t bake a lot but when I get the urge, I get the urge!!! So I have been stewing in my chair all week! Since I can’t bake, which is probably a good thing, I decided to make a dip that has been on my bucket list for the past couple of months.
Greek Hummus! This is one savory hummus, it’s loaded and I mean loaded with lots of flavor. The hummus it’s self is made with chickapeas/garbanzo beans, garlic, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese and roasted red peppers. You can actually taste everything in the dip. It’s so creamy and dam good!!! Here’s a picture of it before I decorated it.
It’s not fancy looking, but it sure tastes fancy smancy to me!! To doll it up, I decided to add some greek style veggies to it like tomato, cucumbers, greek olives, banana peppers and a sprinkle of feta. Oh baby! You need a strong pita chip to hold up to this hummus!! Now don’t get me wrong the hummus it’s self is very soft and perfectly smooth! The secret is adding chickapea juice from the can. That way you don’t need oil to smooth it out. This makes it fat-free!!!
To add just a little bit more flavor, like it really needs more flavor, I decided to add a few droppings of Balsamic Glaze. I love the stuff! I swear I could almost drink it from the container! My Husband loves it for his french fries! He says that way the glaze sticks to the fries and doesn’t make them soggy.
For the balsamic glaze I used the brand Star Fine Foods. I ‘m a huge fan of their products and they are readily available in most grocery stores. One day I plan to try to make my own glaze, but this is so much easier!!! The glaze adds a nice flavor to the topping of the vegetables and goes wonderfully in the hummus. I do recommend however if you don’t plan to eat your vegetables on top, don’t let it sit in the hummus over night. Then the hummus gets a tad watery, still edible, but a tad watery. I think it’s from the cucumbers. trust me, I did that!
- Serves: 1¾ cups hummus, plus about 1 cup of toppings
- Serving size: 14 - 2 tbsp. servings of hummus, not including the
- ***For Hummus***
- 1 15.5 oz. can Garbanzo Beans, drained, rinsed (reserve the juice from the can)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 2 oz fire roasted red pepper, from jar, patted dry, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice, fresh
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. oregano, dried
- 1 tbsp. feta cheese, fat free
- 1 tbsp. sundried tomatoes, chopped
- ½ tsp. salt
- ***For Topping***
- ¼ cup cucumbers, peeled, diced
- ¼ cup tomatoe, seeded, diced
- 5 greek olives
- 5 banana pepper, slices or peppercinini's
- 1 tsp. feta cheese
- Drizzle of balsamic glaze
- Add all of of the hummus ingredients in a food processor and blend until all mixed well and a smooth consistency. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved chickapea juice at a time if it's hard to mix. I used about ¼ cup of juice.
- Place the hummus in a serving bowl and add the toppings.
- Serve with vegetables or pita chips. Also goes great on a sandwich!
Calories per two tablespoons: 37, Fat: 0, Cholesterol: 0, Sodium: 141, Potassium: 29, Carbs: 6.5, Fiber: 1.6, Sugar: .06, Protein: 2.2
Calories per two tablespoons: 37, Fat: 0, Cholesterol: 0, Sodium: 141, Potassium: 29, Carbs: 6.5, Fiber: 1.6, Sugar: .06, Protein: 2.2
The main reason I made this hummus is I have been wanting to dip my vegetables in something for my afternoon snack. Every time I go to the store and check out the labels on the hummus it’s anywhere between 50 – 80 calories for two tablespoons. I moan and say I’ll get it and my Husband says why don’t you make your own? I say fine and then I don’t. He says the same thing about peanut butter too! So finely I took a whole 10 minutes and made my hummus. It’s so worth it and so much better than store-bought stuff! I really do like most things homemade way better than store bought! Don’t you?
Well my friends! As I am writing this post, a new recipe came to my mind and I have about a half hour before bed and I must try it or I won’t b able to fall asleep tonight thinking about it. 🙂 If it turns out I’ll share it with you tomorrow!
Have a great weekend!
Toodles,
Jennifer
P.S. here is my snack pack I took to lunch with me! It’s 114 calories! 2 tbsp. of hummus, 3 oz carrots, about 1/2 cup of grapes, 3/4 cups tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of cucumber! He he! This is cheaper and way better than the Starbucks bistro packs!
Bring on the Greek! I am in! I absolutely LOVE that you topped it with some Greek style veggies and a balsamic glaze, you got skills!
This looks so good! I love all things Greek!!