Homemade Hummus Dip

I first was introduced to hummus sometime during college by my nursing school best friend, Dana. She was the model foodie. Loved to cook, loved to eat, but was super cute and skinny, and mostly ate healthy. I was always trying to model my intake after her. Hummus was immediately interesting to me as it seemed as earthy and granola as I wanted to be, as well as very tasty!

I soon became a connoisseur of hummus with my favorites in Knoxville coming from the Fresh Market (grocery store) and the restaurant Sunspot (where they had a delicious black bean hummus). I learned I did not like the brand Athenos in hummus... and that if I had to buy a store bought brand Sabra was probably the best (although I did like some variations in the "Tribe" brand).  When I moved to San Antonio, I spent one day driving to multiple restaurants and grocery stores buying various brands of hummus, looking for the best one in the area. (Conclusion: The Turquoise Grill off of 410 and Fredericksburg Rd.;  Central Market brands are also pretty good.)

There are certain foods, restaurants, and styles that my sister refers to as "Jessi-friendly"...  Hummus is one such food.  Shortly after she moved to Rochester, MN she called to tell me that she had found he cutest "Jessi-friendly" grocery store (Trader Joe's) as well as some to-die-for hummus at a restaurant called Daube's.  I couldn't wait to visit them both!

Daube's hummus is quite possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever put in my mouth. It was better even than the Fresh Market hummus in Knoxville -- and that is saying A LOT.  I've written down all of the ingredients that the container lists (it's homemade), so I am hoping that someday I will figure the secret out.

The one thing I did figure out from my Daube's experience was why it is I don't really like store-bought hummus.  They are all too smooth.  I guess it's really like the difference between pulp and no pulp, crunchy PB or creamy PB... Van actually prefers smooth hummus, and is thus satisfied with Sabra (easy enough because it's in all stores)... but I like textured hummus (which Daube's is). I sort of like little bits of the chickpea still being visible and tasted.  It seems fresher that way. And it does not encourage my gag reflex, which large amounts of too smooth textured foods will do.

I have made various homemade hummus recipes, with many of them being terrible. But I have finally found and adapted one that I really like.  I have successfully re-created a good tasting hummus with this recipe on more than one attempt (so that seems to insinuate it wasn't just luck the first time.)

If you haven't tried hummus before, you should!

Classic Hummus Recipe:
3 C chickpeas, drained
3 garlic cloves
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C tahini
salt and pepper to taste
3 TBSP lemon juice

So I like to make my chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) fresh. You could buy them and drain them from a can, but I feel like it's healthier making them with dried beans... so what I do is I put the chickpeas on the stove or in my little 8 qt bean crockpot and cook ... I put one cup of dried chickpeas with about 6 cups of water, 1/4 C of olive oil, and a tsp. of salt.  I cook them for however long they need to cook (if on the stove a couple of hours + adding water as needed,  and if in the crockpot more like all day...)

I made some hummus this evening.  I put the chickpeas in the crockpot this morning around 11 when I left, and when I got home around dinner, they were ready to be turned into a yummy hummus.

I put all of the ingredients in my food processor at one time and mix. I don't add any of the chickpea juice because I like my hummus drier (which will make it more textured), and I am careful not to puree too long with the processor (as to keep it sort of chunky).  If you like it smooth, though, you can add a little more olive oil or juice from the chickpeas.

I added 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper... but I ended up thinking it needed a little more salt. So I added another 1/8 tsp.

And it turned out delicious.

If you want to get creative, you could add some red bell pepper or whatever else to the food processor to give it a less classic taste. But personally, I like it just the way it's written above!

Eat it with carrots, celery, bell peppers, pita chips, or pitas... use to replace mayonnaise with burgers... it has a million different ways to eat it. :)  Good and good for you... can't beat that!

Spiced Quinoa Recipe

I really enjoy cooking, but I never ever follow directions exactly by the cookbook. I always add a few spices I like, take away a few spices I don't like or don't have... To me, cooking is the closest I'll ever feel to being a painter... "a dab of this here, a little more color there..."

Since I'm a little skiddish of most meats (and definitely meat that I have cooked, because there is just something about having trimmed every little piece of fat and vein off a piece of meat that even after it is cooked I have no appetite for), I am always looking for good vegetarian recipes that are filling and healthy. Lately I've been trying more rices... and tonight was my second go at quinoa. 

One of the places I get suggestions for recipes from is allrecipes.com.  They usually get me at least steered in the right direction, and so many of their recipes have comments and addendums from various cooks who have also tried the recipes, that I find I can mix and match just the way I like and still end up with a great recipe. 

So tonight, I had boiled 1/2 C of quinoa and bulgur (combo) in 1 C of low sodium chicken broth... but wanting to make it a little less bland, I searched for a quinoa recipe. 

I added a little bit of olive oil (maybe a Tablespoon - by eye), 1 1/2 tsp of curry, 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, a bit of minced garlic (this one I also just threw in there... maybe 1 1/2 Tablespoon), and some onion flakes (again, just whatever fancied me at the moment). I also added a little water (because it had already almost boiled dry by the time I decided to add all of these spices) and let the spices cook with the quinoa for a few more minutes. Then I added a can of drained garbanzo beans and some pine nuts to the finish. If you want an exact recipe rather than my "eye" measurements, you can find it by searching for "spiced quinoa' on allrecipes.com.  I loved it, and so did Van (although it was my main meal, he also had pork tenderloin and other veggies)  I think it would be an easy and excellent lunch during the week, as quinoa is super healthy and full of protein. 

Yummy! And so excited to have a new, simple, fast, and non-meat dish for me!

French Onion Soup

In my last post, I told how I had managed to chop 5 onions with almost no eye burning. (CHEW GUM!) So now that you know that... I guess you're ready to chop some onions! 

I had never made French onion soup until YESTERDAY, but Van loved it -- and he especially loved it in a baked bread bowl, covered with melted gruyere cheese. His exact words were, "this is a meal fit for company". haha (My country boy...)

So here's a picture of my finished product, followed by the recipe.  

(Pinterest-inspired) French Onion Soup 

INGREDIENTS

3	pounds yellow onions, cut into 1/8-inch pieces (I used 5 onions)
3	tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2	teaspoon table salt, plus more as needed
1	pinch sugar (my pinch = 1/2 teaspoon)
8	cups water , plus more as needed
1	tablespoon all-purpose flour (i didn't have any, so I used self-rising and it worked just fine)
1	sprig fresh thyme
1/4	cup dry white wine
1	baguette , crusty (I bought a round sourdough bread, cut out the center and baked to make crusty)
8	ounces Gruyère cheese-I sliced it thick and placed it over the top of the top of the bread bowl…..the cheese melted mostly into the soup and a little off to the sides, but it created a thick, even layer this way.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar. Toss to evenly coat.
3. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Take the cover off, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned.  I cooked mine for a little less than 90 minutes.
5. At this point, stir every 5 minutes and add water (a tablespoon at a time to loosen up the dark brown stuff that forms on the bottom of the pan).
6. Continue to cook until the onions are an even dark brown color, an additional 30 minutes longer or so.
7. Add the flour and stir for two minutes.
8. Add 8 cups water and thyme to the onions and bring to a boil.
9. Lower heat  and simmer for 20 minutes.
10. Add white wine and simmer 10 minutes longer.
11. Add salt to taste.

For the bread bowl:

1. I heated oven to 350 degrees F
2. I had bought a round piece of sourdough like bread in the bakery at my grocery store. I cut a hole in the center and hollowed it out. I baked the bread for about 8 minutes... until I thought it was crispy enough. Then I poured some warm soup into the bread bowl, placed a slice of gruyere cheese over the top and placed it back in the oven on broil for an additional 5 minutes (until cheese was melted). 
3. Cool before serving. :)                                                                           

White Chicken Chili

I LOVE FALL. I love soups. I love pumpkins. I love spice-lattes. I love soups. I love cool crisp weather. I love bonfires. I love hayrides. I love (UT) football. And did I mention that I love soups??

When I lived in Knoxville, I was a big fan of the restaurant Calhoun's. In particular, I love their white chicken chili. So one of the first recipes I found to cook after getting married was a copy-cat-recipe of Calhoun's white chicken chili. I've made it many many times over the last 6 years, and it's always a favorite with friends.

I thought some of you might enjoy trying it as well!

Buen Provecho!

Ingredients:
1 cup onions finely diced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon fresh cilantro
1 4 oz can canned diced green chiles
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 cups great northern beans, from canned (which is equivilent to 3cans of beans, but I like a lot of beans so I use FOUR 15 oz cans of great northern beans)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water

Directions
Trim all fat and cartilage from the chicken breasts.Place on a baking pan.Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout.Allow to cool, then hand pull into small pieces (or shred in food processor). Set aside.Saute diced onions, oregano and olive oil together in a soup pot. Cookfor about 5 minutes. (or until onions are tender)Combine water, chicken broth, garlic, cumin, cilantro and green chilies.Add to the sauted onions.Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.Add chicken and great northern beans, stir often, simmer for 15 minutes.Blend corn starch with the cold water and add to chili to thicken.Continue to simmer until chili thickens, then remove from heat.Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, Monterey Jack cheese, and sour cream.

Cinnamon-Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

"Cinnamon and Sustenance" :  That's what any "food" related blog I write should be called.  I have noticed that on my "Buen Provecho" board on Pinterest, at least over half of my pins are cinnamon related topics. I often tell people that cinnamon is to me what chocolate is to most people. I love it. I crave it. And I have a hard time disciplining myself to not eat it.

So in keeping with this love, I thought it fitting that my first food blog be my most recent, very amazing new cinnamon recipe. Okay, so I take it back... it really was a pumpkin coffee cake recipe that I found on Pinterest. But again, in keeping with my tastebud preferences, I decided to add ground cinnamon and cinnamon chips - and it was a hit! So now, it's a pumpkin recipe, revised to be a cinnamon recipe.

Happy Fall, everyone!

⅓ cups Water 
1 can Pureed Pumpkin (15 Oz)
1 bag of Hershey's cinnamon chips 
2 whole Eggs 
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon 
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice 
1 box Yellow Cake Mix (18 Ounce Box) 
1 teaspoon Baking Soda 
1 cup Brown Sugar, Divided 
½ cups Flour 
4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted 
¼ cups Granulated Sugar 
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl mix together the water, pumpkin, eggs, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla, Cinnamon chips, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix until just combined.

Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and pour batter into pan.

In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and melted butter. Use your fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the glaze, combine the other 1/2 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved.

When cake is finished baking, poke holes in the top with a toothpick. Pour glaze over the cake, making sure to cover all surfaces. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.