Twice Baked Potatoes

8 large baking potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/3 cup milk
grated cheese
Paprika

Pierce the potatoes and bake at 400 F for 60-70 minutes or until
tender. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp. Set shells
aside. In a large bowl, mash pulp, sour cream, garlic powder, salt,
oregano, cayenne, celery salt and enough milk to make a smooth
filling. Stuff shells; place in two greased 13x9 pans. Sprinkle with
cheese and paprika if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for
20-25 minutes or until heated through.

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.

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.