Homemade Pita Chips and Hummus ... And Overstuffed Peppers

On Saturday, I was really bored, so I decided to make lots of homemade goodies while Matt was at clinicals.

Homemade Pita Chips

Ok - I love pita chips from Sam's, but these were pretty easy to make and I felt so Suzie Homemaker...and they don't have massive amounts of salt on them.

Buy any kind of pita - a pack usually has like 5-6 pitas in it.

Cut the pita in half with scissors, then cut each half into quarters (so cut it like you would a pizza).

Tear the 2 layers apart (they'll be attached at the top).

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil spray

Line up your little triangles, and spray with olive oil spray (or spray butter, or douse with olive oil), then sprinkle with your favorite spice mix.  I used adobo and then some lemon pepper mix.

Throw in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes (you'll know when they are done when they turn brown and crispy).  

And then you get these crunchy homemade pita chips!

Mmm Mmm Hummus

So I think my first foray into making hummus was a bit of a fail, but I know why.  I go to the store to get sour cream after this crazy snow storm, and there was none.  What a random thing to not have. The sour cream was a substitute for greek yogurt, which I just couldn't even handle using (ick - yogurt!).  So, I used ranch veggie dip.  Sour cream and ranch.  Well, I tried it anyway.  Check it out. 

Ps. this is an adaptation of a Hungry Girl recipe that can be found here.

1 can of artichoke hearts (drained)

1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (drained and smashed)

1/4 cup of broth (the recipe calls for vegetable, but I had beef, oh well)

Splash of lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon of the following:

Pepper

Cumin

Paprika

Parsley

Garlic powder

Onion power

Put all of this stuff in your blender/large food processor and blend it until really smooth.  Chill for a few hours.

So, it was OK.  I'll probably try another recipe later and get all of the right ingredients

Chicken and Veggie Stuffed Peppers

Now - these are BOMB!  And so easy!

OK - I just threw a bunch of stuff in, so bear with me that these measurements are not exact.  

Combine half of a can of each of the following and mix well:

Black beans (drained)

Corn (drained)

Spinach (drained) - you can use fresh or frozen as well, just whatever you have handy.

I seasoned with pepper and mixed well by shaking in a tupperware.

Cube and cook some chicken (or used canned if you want to cheat).  I seasoned with garlic, onion, and adobo, then dumped a can of Rotel on top (again, I know this is really random).  I used 1-2 cups of cubed chicken and had lots of the mixture left over.

Combine chicken and Rotel with veggie mixture.  Throw in handful of cheese to hold it all together.

Take 3 peppers (red, yellow and orange is what I used) and halve (half?) them and take out the ribs.  

Stuff peppers with the mixture, and pop in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

This is a totally random recipe, but it was soooooo good.  And the leftovers keep really well.