Sunday, December 8, 2013

Homemade Hummus & Salsa

The Christmas season is upon us! And I'm sure for many of you, that means Christmas parties galore! The temptation during the holidays is to eat unhealthy. Most people associate healthy eating with tasting bad but that is not the case here!

Here are two really simple and quick recipes to mix up the night before a party: Basic Garlic Hummus & Simple Salsa. The best part is they take about 10 minutes or less to prepare! 
You want to leave time for the flavors to marinate for a few hours before serving, but it's best overnight.

I've never made either salsa or hummus before so this was my first time. I can only imagine the recipes getting even more tastier the more I experiment.  I love chips and salsa and in recent years have discovered my love for hummus. You can buy salsa here in Siberia, but it's made by Heinz. And it taste like ketchup- yuck!!

I'm having friends over this afternoon for lunch and am making fajitas and I really wanted some hummus and salsa.


Basic Garlic Hummus

Hummus:
1 Can of Garbanzo beans (chick peas) drained and rinsed
2 tsp of fresh cilantro
1 fresh minced garlic clove or 2 tsp of garlic powder
2 tsp of fresh parsley
1/2 tsp of cumin
1 TBSP of olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP of tahini (sesame seed paste- I didn't have this and it can be made without it.) 

Add these to help cream the hummus
*1 TBSP of Sour cream ( I added this to make it a little more creamy. This is optional)
*1 TBSP of water (optional but I recommend. Add more if needed)

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend. Scrape the sides to help cream hummus. When I blended everything it still tasted pretty bland- so I added the sour cream and a few extra seasonings that I like (Italian). So feel free to add whatever you like to your taste. 

Scrape into a bowl. Add paprika for color and a sprinkle of parsley and cilantro on top for decorations! 

Serve with tortilla chips, pita bread or veggies! 

Add 1/4 C of roasted red peppers
3 TBSP of lemon juice 
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper  

Simple Salsa

Simple Salsa:
4 ripe tomatoes
1/4 C of cilantro ( I love cilantro!!)
1/3 C or less of finely chopped onion (or less depending on taste)
2 TBSP of finely chopped pepper (jalepeno, but I used green pepper since I didn't have a jalepeno)
1 tsp of minced garlic (or garlic powder)
Bowl two cups of hot water and pour over onion and green pepper. Let cook for about 5 minutes and drain and rinse with cold water. 
Add all ingredients to food processor. And pulse just until blended. Leave it chunky or puree it according to how you want the consistency. I like it chunky but processed a little bit for flavor. 

Again, you can make this as spicy or as mild as you like it. Omit or reduce onion for less of a kick and omit or reduce the jalepeno also. Or add more to make it spicy and throw in some cayenne pepper. I added too much onion to mine but I know for next time! 

Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy these two healthy dips for your holiday parties! 

Up next on the recipe posts will be : Apple Pie, and Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies ( a fun twist on oatmeal raisin cookies!) 

"O taste and see that the Lord is good!"

Hope you enjoy my recipes as I am learning to cook from scratch here in Russia! 

I also welcome any salsa or hummus recipes that you like or any tricks and tips you would like to share! 



3 comments:

  1. I was just thinking I wanted to find a recipe for hummus! So thanks! I look forward to making it soon! Also, I just read your previous post - we as Americans are so schedule orientated! I love being elsewhere in the world, because it is the people (hospitality) that is most important. Love you Amber. (I will answer your email this week.... I promise!)

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    1. How about that? Great minds think alike! :) Ha! You're welcome! I was surprised at how easy it was to make both of them. I was afraid to make my own salsa thinking it was too difficult. But alas, I was wrong ( it happens every now and then!) Love you friend! Praying for you! Can't wait to see you some time in the near future! (Hopeful thinking!) And yes, I check hourly on my email response patiently waiting. Haha :) I was actually just thinking who's turn it was- yours--should've known.

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  2. Looks amazing!! I've wanted to make hummus for a long time! I read on MamasWeeds blog that she learned to take the time to pop off the skins of each garbanzo bean before processing and it made it much more creamy. Love your posts =D
    >Alysia<

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