Cooking with Susie Q

10 years ago

Last week I asked for some of your favorite “Holiday” recipes.  You heard my call and answered!  Thank you to Mel for the Hot Artichoke and Spinach dip. I have one in my oven as we speak to try! Thanks also to Kelly for the Hummus recipe.

I’m hoping a friend of mine will try this recipe for Hummus. She has hummus with her lunch several days a week.  Have a great week!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese blend
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (10-ounce) jar prepared Alfredo sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces softened cream cheese

    Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and spread mixture into a small baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are bubbling and melted.

Creamy Hummus
1 15 oz can of organic chickpeas
1/3 cup organic tahini
Juice from 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water

    Directions: Drain and rinse the chickpeas and set aside. You can spend the time taking the little skins off each chickpea but it’s pretty time consuming and not so much creamier that I think it’s worth it. This recipe gets pretty creamy even without that step.
Combine the tahini and the lemon juice and blend until smooth and frothy. This is the key to getting it creamy, by the way. You have to combine these 2 ingredients first, essentially cream the tahini, or it just won’t blend perfectly with the chickpeas.
Add the garlic and salt and blend again. Now add in the chickpeas about 1/3 of the can at a time and blend until smooth. Try to get as few skins as possible, this will also help with the texture. Scrape down the sides of the blender and push the chickpeas down to the bottom as needed. Once you’ve got all the chickpeas blended in, add the olive oil and turn on the blender and just leave it for a few minutes. I like to add in a little water too, to get the consistency just how I like it.  Have fun with it Susie Q!