Hummus

I've really struggled with making a plain-'ol regular hummus. The proportions always seem just a little off. Well, I've found if I follow this recipe exactly that my hummus turns out great! Which is fantastic given that I like to eat a lot of hummus and that I can make it for 1/4 of the price in the store.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 to 4 tablespoons broth (I call it the juice) from the chickpeas

2 to 3 tablespoons sesame tahini

Blend in a food processor until smooth.

Chocolate Oat Bars

Mmmm, this one is delicious!

Chocolate Oat Bars

Grease 13x9 baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together in large bowl:
3/4 C butter
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
Beat in:
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 t vanilla
Set aside. Whisk together in a bowl:
1 3/4 C flour
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
Stir in:
2 1/4 C old fashioned oats
Combine in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth:
1 1/4 C semi-sweet choco chips
1 1/4 C sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 T butter
pinch of salt
Stir in:
3/4 t vanilla
3/4 C chopped walnuts/pecans (opt)

Remove from heat. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pat about 2/3 into a baking pan. Pour chocolate mixture over all, then dot with the remaining batter. Bake about 25 minutes; cool completely.

Homemade Refried Beans

For a one pound bag of pinto beans (feeds about 6-8 people):

1. Pour the beans out on the table and sort out ones that look really shriveled and rotten. Also, take out the rocks... obviously... unless you're into that kinda stuff...

2. Put 'em in a bowl and rinse them until the water is basically clear.

3. Put them in a pot with 2x as much water as beans. Add a strip of bacon, a cube of chicken bouillon, 1/2 TBSP salt, and 4 cloves (or three big ones) garlic. 

If you're cooking them in the crock-pot, put it on high and let it cook overnight-- about eight hours. Wake up four hours into it to make sure that there is still enough water in the pot. The beans should always be submerged in water. Cooking them on the stove is basically the same, but you only cook it for about four hours. Stir them at least ever hour and make sure that the beans are still submerged. They're done when you can squish them pretty easily with a spoon. 

THEN put a little oil (maybe 2 TBSP) in a frying pan, and add the beans. Cook them and squish the beans until most of them are squished... let them cook down until the beans are just a little bit runny since they'll thicken.