Red Pepper Hummus

I discovered hummus as an adult. I don't remember ever hearing of it growing up. Once I discovered it, I loved it! It's such a simple thing, and it makes a great snack with pita wedges or various crudites. I've even been known to add it to a turkey sandwich to add a little "something" to it. Until today, I had never made it myself. It's not because I didn't want to, but for the longest time I couldn't figure out where they kept tahini in the grocery store. Well, I finally found it - in the section where they have the peanut butter and the jams, etc. Who knew?

The other night, I had pulled out the June 2007 Cooking Light searching for some inspiration for next week's meals. I actually ended up marking quite a few recipes to try which is funny since I hadn't marked any last year. Funny how your tastes change or what you are willing to make does over time.

We were having a last minute get-together with some friends tonight, so I thought this would be a nice starter to the meal. I bought some multi-grain pitas (couldn't find whole wheat, and now I'm happy I tried these since I liked them better!), and cut into triangles to serve with the hummus. The Red Pepper Hummus is so quick to make it's ridiculous to buy it. I can totally see changing up the flavors a bit on this recipe. I like that it's lighter and does not use oil in it. If you just can't live without adding it, I would think that it would make it slightly creamier. It was still creamy because I let the food processor go for several minutes to ensure that everything was thoroughly blended.

Everyone enjoyed it, and I'm marking this as a definite "make again". So simple and healthy, too! Can't beat that, right? Since this recipe includes a beautiful red pepper, I'm going to submit it to Sweetnick's ARF 5 a Day Round Up for next Tuesday. Be sure to head over and check out all the fantastic healthy recipes being made around the blogging world!