My first attempt at making hummus!

Do you have any vegetarian friends? I've noticed lately that most of my appetizer recipes are not vegetarian friendly. I decided to try making hummus for the first time. I'm glad that I made it because I quickly learned that it's one of the cheapest and easiest appetizers on earth! Also, I was able to add an ingredient to my repertoire: chickpeas. There are many synonyms for chickpeas -- garbanzo beans, Indian peas, Bengal gram, & ceci beans.

I encourage you to stop by How Sweet It Is. She has great food photos. That is where I found this super easy Peanut Butter Hummus recipe. It's the perfect introduction to making hummus.

(Don't zoom in on the PB. It expired in Nov. Whoops!)

Ingredients as listed on How Sweet It Is:
15 oz. can of chickpeas
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (plus some for garnish, optional)

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Toss them into a food processor or blender. Ground until you can ground no more. Mine never got as fine as I would have liked, but later on in the process, it became smooth. Have I mentioned that I loved having a food processor? It truly changed my life. Add the peanut butter, mix, and then slowly add a stream of olive oil as you are running the food processor or blender. Mix until it looks creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix one more time.

Hummus should be served cool. I popped mine in the fridge for a bit. I served my hummus with bagel chips and carrots. I had some cilantro purchased for another dish; I used that as a garnish. Do you like cilantro? Or are you one of those people who think that cilantro tastes like soap? I need you to read this - NPR: Getting to the Root of the Great Cilantro Divide.

I'm looking forward to making more hummus recipes in the future.

Are you interested in going meatless for one day a week? Read here.

Want to make more vegetarian dishes? Click here.