Black-Eyed Pea Hummus

Y'all, I love hummus. It's healthy, packed with calcium and protein, and a great snack or appetizer.
I'm always surprised at the high prices for hummus in the grocery store. Well, let me tell you, I'm in LOVE with this recipe! Thanks to Literally, A Spoonful, (and this blog creator happens to be a friend of mine from Auburn University School of Nursing), I now know how to cook beans in the crock pot (and my oh my, are they cooked to perfection!), and now how to make hummus. Yum-O.
We're having some Young Life leaders over for dinner tomorrow night, and I can't wait to serve this hummus with carrots and broccoli as an appetizer, to get some good veggies in their nutrition-deprived bodies (you know how those college meals go).

First off, I put a 16 oz bag of black-eyed peas in my slow cooker, covered with about 2 inches of water (make sure all the beans are covered), add a few pinches of salt, and let cook on HI for 4 hours. Easy-peasy. Once cooled, freeze half of the black-eyed peas for a later recipe, and then put the 2nd half in a food processor. Add 3 cloves of garlic (minced...but I buy the already-minced...what can I say? I'm all about ease of cooking these days), 1/2 cup lemon juice (again, I buy already squeezed, but I know fresh would taste that much better), 1/3 cup tahini*** (see notes below), 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp paprika. Process until smooth. Serve with cut up carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, toasted pita wedges, etc. Recipe here.

Go to Literally, A Spoonful's blog, as she has much prettier pictures. I worked today and hit a baking/cooking spurt when I got home (which I know I'll pay for the fatigue in the morning!). Therefore, I have no energy, nor desires, to take pics of what I've made. But, it's really, truly, truly, truly delicious and easy. I, for one, do NOT like black-eyed peas, so this is a delicious way to get them into my diet!

***About the tahini, I was at Publix the other day and was appalled to see an 8 oz. jar of tahini (ground sesame seed paste) for around $9.00. I turned to trusty ole' Amazon, and I found these lovely 2 pack of 32 oz. jars of tahini straight from Lebanon for under $15. Thank you Amazon! I got them in 2 days (courtesy of amazon.com/mom)!

K, off to finish up baking this Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from the front cover of Southern Living September 2011 magazine. (I'll let you know if mine turns out as pretty as SL's picture)