This and that: Blog Train and a Picnic

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Blog Train and a Picnic

We are going on a picnic and have brought a  lot of yummy recipes with us. 
What do you like to bring on you with you when you go on picnic?
Are you someone who is very elaborate or do you just pack simple?
Do you like picnics that are romantic - just you and your guy or gal?
Or are you a family oriented picnicker? 
For today's picnic I decided to start out with an appetizer
and made some

Pita Bread and Hummus 

Pita and Hummus/This and That #hummus #Garbanzo Beans #vegetarian

I have never made Hummus before and I thought it couldn't be that hard to make... Could it?  I will start with some Garbanzo Beans that I will cook at home and add some ingredients, mix it in my food processor and voila... Hummus.   That is what I did... well it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it too but it tasted wonderful, even though it wasn't as smooth as it should have been.  I don't think I cooked the Garbanzo Beans long enough, so they were still a little chunky when I put them in the food processor.  

The first thing I did was cooked my Garbanzo Beans.  I never soak my beans before cooking.  I just pick out the bad looking ones, wash them, place them in a pot and cover with water, add salt and cook them until they are soft ~ about 2 hours.  For these recipes I cooked 2 cups (although I ate at least 1/2 cup as I was waiting for them to soften enough).

Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Hummus 

Ingredients:  Printable Recipe
1 cup of Garbanzo Beans (cooked or you could probably use canned)
3 tbsp Olive Oil ( I used Pompeian Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh basil, cut in pieces
Salt (optional) to taste - I didn't use any as I added salt when I cooked the beans.

Directions:
Place all ingredients into food processor and puree until consistency that you prefer.  I did add a little water to mine as it didn't mix well, which helped to get a thinner, smoother consistency.  I added the water by tbsp until I got the consistency that I wanted.

Chipolte Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

If you want a hummus with a little kick this recipe is for you.
Ingredients: Printable Recipe
3/4 cup Garbanzo Beans (I ate the other 1/4 cup of the beans before I started making the recipe)
1 tbsp Chipolte Sauce
1/3 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes
1 minced garlic clove
3 tbsp olive oil (I used Pompeian Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil)
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
Add all ingredients into a food processor and puree until you have a smooth consistency.  I added water by the tbsp until I got the consistency that I wanted. 

To make homemade  Seasoned Pita Bread Crackers go here for the recipes.  I baked the bread and cut in small triangle pieces, then heated up my Cast Iron Pan with small amount of oil, and recooked the pita crackers until they were crispy approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.


So let's go on a picnic, a virtual picnic that is! Enjoy yourself as you visit each of these great sites as they have something good for you to enjoy during our picnic!












Image and video hosting by TinyPic

9 comments :

  1. Marlys, I adore hummus but haven't branched out beyond the simplest version. Your two variations sound amazing! Perfect for a picnic!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ohhh, this sounds like heaven to me, I love good hummus, perfect for a picnic!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've wanted to try my own hummus but I'm still too chicken :) But both the chipotle and sun-dried tomato are flavors I LOVE! Great picnic food!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yea! Hummus munchies on our picnic! Love the idea of sundried tomatoes and chipotle. Hummus is so easy to make and I love gathering new versions for it. Thanks so much, Marlys! Off to pin!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Add a little water before processing and that should smooth things out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank for the tip Catherine. I did add water as I was processing but will try it at the beginning and see if it will be smoother next time.

      Delete
  6. I love the flavors you added to the hummus! Yes, a little more water will make it smoother. Some add more olive oil, but I like to use water to save on calories.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My kind of appetizer for sure and this really does travel well! Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love hummus, and these versions look amazing!

    ReplyDelete

Please stop for a moment and leave a comment to let me know you have been here. I love reading all your comments.

I am sorry but I cannot accept Anonymous comments anymore as I am getting too many spam. I hope that you will comment with an ID user. Thanks for understanding.

I will not be accepting comments that have links on them. I will not delete them but because of google's stance on links I do not want to have any problems with my blog. Thank you for your understanding.