Homemade Hummus - Several Different Ways

I'm joining in again with Jenn of Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food series. This week's frugal star is beans!

One of our favorite bean recipes is Hummus. This Mediterranean dip or spread is made with chick peas/garbanzo beans and is so good for you! It's one of our favorite snacks too.

Hummus is easy-peasy and inexpensive to make. No need to buy the $3 little tubs at the store! If you can operate a food processor or blender you can whip this up in no time!

I'll give you the basic recipe that I use then list some possible add-ins that are so so good for variety! I don't really measure the spices; I just add to taste and so on.

Hummus

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans,drained or cook your own from dried beans
1/2 cup tahini(or less depending on taste; you can leave this out if desired, it does give a more authentic taste, though)
Olive oil(I start with about 3 tablespoons.)
Minced garlic
Lemon juice
Sea salt
Cumin

Puree beans in food processor or blender. Add tahini and small amounts of other ingredients. Continue to add until desired taste and consistency are reached. I like it thick enough so it's not runny but thin enough to spread.

Serve with fresh veggies pita bread or chips or tortilla chips. Keep in refrigerator. This stays fresh for awhile in the fridge but can also be frozen with good success.

Now here's the fun part!

While blending hummus add your choice of the following:

-crushed red pepper flakes
-olives
-drained and chopped artichokes
-fresh herbs such as basil
-drained jar of roasted red peppers(our favorite!)

I know some of these add-ins are really not that frugal, yet they are fun to have when there's a little extra $$ in the food budget!

I have also done this with white beans instead of the chickpeas(minus the tahini) and it made a delicious bean dip as well.

Enjoy!