Homemade Hummus

Ahhh I forgot how much I love spending the evening in the kitchen! I baked some pie pumpkins to make pumpkin pie for the future (freezers work miracles), made raspberry pretzel jello for our neighbor (long story) and hummus! If you do not know, I am a student, a nursing student to be exact. I'm not exactly made of money, so this is a "frugal" approach to enjoying hummus (which can be quite expensive!) All props go to Moneysavingmom.com where I found this recipe!

http://allrecipes.com/Cook/11694711/Photo.aspx?photoID=471245

Homemade Hummus

Price Per Serving: $0.05 (1/4 cup)
Recipe Yield: 1 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (about 3/4 cup dry) — see cooking notes below
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine all of the ingredients other than the water into a quality food processor or blender and let it do its thing.
2. Add some water 1/4 cup at a time and continue blending, scraping down the sides occasionally if needed. You can add more or less water than suggested, depending on your desired consistency.
3. Enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

To cook dried chickpeas, first soak them over night in cold water. Then, bring the soaked chickpeas to a boil in plenty of water and reduce the heat to a simmer for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours until tender. Leave the lid of the pot tilted slightly to allow some of the steam to escape. If you’d rather, you can cook them in a slow cooker instead.

If you’d rather just use canned chickpeas (already cooked), just realize that you’ll probably be paying more like $0.12 to $0.15 per serving instead.

 http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/09/easy-homemade-hummus.html

Healthy, yummy, simple. :)  Enjoy your week!

Date-less Distress (For All the Single Ladies and Guys)

To be single.
For some, that is a distressing thought. For many I have met, to be single means to be missing something (namely, their "second half"). Everyday I see young men and women in this world searching for a soul mate. They desire to undergo the transition from single to pair, and they want it NOW!
I believe we as humans are fashioned beautifully. God has made us as creatures who desire a significant other. We dream of that one person who will complete our soul by fitting their heart perfectly into the ragged edges of our heart. It is not good for man or woman to be alone.
So then the question comes to timing.
What if it is not our time to be searching for our other half? What if there lays a treasure before us, waiting to be opened? The treasure of singleness is not made to be ignored, pushed aside or treated with contempt. In it we can find the gold of time, the gem of ministry, the sapphire of serving and the crown of intimacy with Christ.
Careful, lest we look past this treasure and gaze too much into the horizon. That other treasure will be given to us at the right time.

So I do not know about you, but I'm taking hold of the treasure before me. When Uncle Fedya calls and instead of engaging in small talk (like normal people), asks if I am engaged; or when someone asks if I have a boyfriend, I will not be discouraged in my singleness!
Let the haters hate and the babas gossip, I'm single and content where I am in this season of life. How about you?

http://pinterest.com/pin/75787206199373347/

-Diana, 19, date-less and not in distress.

     

Southern Peach Cobbler

 

A delicious cobbler that intensifies in taste when eating and speaking in a southern accent. 

Anyway, you can add any kind of fruit into this cobbler... I imagine blueberry would be simply the bomba!

Ingredients

• 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
•  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup boiling water
•  
• MIX TOGETHER:
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes. 

Thank you Allrecipies.com! This website app on my phone always lets me search the best rated recipes according to what I have on hand. Very helpful. Click HERE for the link to the site.