Grocery Shopping and Protein Kick

Huzzah! I am running out of a lot of things. We usually do the Costco-shop-in-bulk route and then head to one of the grocery stores to pick up the rest of what need (especially fresh produce). I checked my refridgerator today to see what I needed and I'm shocked that we went through almost all of the ground beef this month. Normally I have many more packages (I usually buy in bulk and just separate the meats and put in ziplock bags) leftover, but this month it looks like we went through more ground beef than chicken breasts.

Speaking of protein, I've got us on a protein kick nowadays, including eating less "bad" carbohydrates and more produce and protein-rich foods. As a meat alternative I have bought many different varieties of beans- pinto, kidney, blackbeans. I'm thinking of picking up some navy beans and trying those as well. Beans are rich in protein and cheaper than meats. I can make almost anything with them- beans and rice, mexican style meals, you name it.

Here's something I've been wanting to try...a recipe sent to me by a fellow Potlatcher (our version of "Freecycle")...a simple Hummus recipe. My husband has tried it and likes it, but I haven't tried it yet.

Hummus by fellow Potlatcher

2 cans of garbanzo beans
2 heaping tablespoons of tahini maybe more
3-6 cloves of garlic (more or less depending on your taste and how potent your garlic is)
the juice of half to a whole lemon
olive oil (really good quality Extra virgin, you want the oil to taste good)

I combine the first 4 in the food processor and blend until smooth. Add olive oil slowly until you get the consistancy you are looking for. Taste it and add more of whatever you like. You can add some salt if you want but go easy because the tahini is salty. Drizzle extra olive oil on top and garnish with paprika and that's it.