Hummus and crackers or veggies is a popular party food. It seems to pop up at most events that I attend these days. And I have to admit, I have in the past bought commercial hummus for a party, thinking that I didn't have enough time to make it myself. However, for this recent reception, even though I was very pressed for time, I found that I could make my own hummus, using a couple of ready-to-go ingredients, for 1/4 of Walmart's price for the Sabra brand of hummus.
For fast and easy hummus, I used my food processor, one 15-oz can of Kroger brand garbanzo beans, drained, salt, vegetable oil, bottled lemon juice, dried chives, garlic powder, and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil for topping. I processed all of the above ingredients, minus the topping olive oil, until a smooth puree, then drizzled in some olive oil just before refrigerating. I estimate the cost of my ingredients to be about 75 to 80 cents, and my yield was greater than that which is sold in packages at the grocery store. This was so easy to make that buying the ready-made hummus sounds like such a complete waste of my money now. I spent less than 5 minutes making this hummus, and about 2 minutes washing out the FP bowl and blade. $2.34 savings for less than 7 minutes of work.
Homemade hummus keeps in the refrigerator for about 5 days, so this is an item that can be made several days in advance of an event. It can also be frozen, keeping for about 6 months at 0 degrees F.
