homemade hummus and easy tortilla chips

I love hummus. And I've thought about making my own for a while. It couldn't possibly be that hard, could it? Well, turns out that it's pretty easy! I think I'll be making hummus this way from now on!

To make my foray into homemade hummus making even more special, I decided to make my own tortilla chips as well. What you see above is an awesome mug that has some olive oil in it.

Each tortilla needs to be brushed with olive oil on both sides, then stack 'em up!

Once each little tortilla has been brushed with oil, stacking them up is going to help make slicing them so much easier.

Two slices right down the middle, criss crossed, will give you plenty of chips. And if you are using taco sized tortillas, the chips will basically be the same size as regular store bought bagged chips.

Sprinkle liberally with salt. I don't bother will the whole "single layer" thing. This way, I get lots of different textures! That, and I'll have less pans to wash.

Make sure you toss them around once in the oven so nothing gets too burnt. A little char is nice, but too much is... too much.

As for the chickpeas, a.k.a. garbanzo beans, if you are using canned, make sure they are drained, rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel (or air dried). I can never find fresh chickpeas in my grocery store, and I don't have the patience to reconstitute them from dry so I always use canned when I want them.

Hummus is really easy to switch up, but this is just a basic hummus. I wanted to go traditional for my first try! Just lemon juice, tahini, roasted garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and smoked paprika. That's it! Let it whirl around in the food processor for a while, and you can keep adding olive oil if it's too dry.

Pretty super simple, huh? Really easy! You'll never buy hummus again!

Homemade Hummus and Easy Tortilla Chips
6 taco sized tortillas
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
2 Tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 cloves roasted garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil, for brushing
Kosher salt, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush both sides of each tortilla with olive oil, then stack up and slice into 4 equal parts. Layer tortillas on a baking pan and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, turning once during cook time for even browning. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for several minutes. Meanwhile, drain garbanzo beans and rinse in colander. Dry with paper towel, then transfer to a food processor. Combine with olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, roasted garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Pulse and puree until smooth. Add additional olive oil if needed. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!