Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Baked Pita Chips

I know.  Has roasted red pepper hummus not been done like a gazillion times before on like a gazillion different blogs?  I'm going to post it anyway.  You know what they say:  it's not a food blog until there's a post on hummus.  I'm haven't been doing a lot of cooking this week because my hubby is hunting wild turkey in the northern part of the state and this is pretty much what I've lived on.  This and a steady diet of HGTV.  I like the one where they redid the master bedroom and then there was a big reveal at the end.  Have you seen that one? 

Anyway...  

The great thing about this combo is that it's healthy and cheap.  I recently discovered that my local Wal-Mart has a clearance rack of bakery and bread items.  I visit it every time I go and  I picked up a couple of bags of pita bread a while back for about $.90 apiece.  I froze them and kept saying that I was going to make chips out of them and I finally did this week.  Now, I love the bags of pita chips that they sell in the store (Stacy's rocks!) but they are a little on the expensive side, I think.  Mine were equally delicious at a fraction of the price.  I have also been picking up loaves of ciabatta and focaccia bread at a reduced cost.  I just check for any signs of mold, and then I freeze it when I get home.  Since most of these breads are toasted when I use them, freezing is just fine.

I actually had everything to make the hummus including the tahini (sesame seed paste), which is more of an 'exotic' food item in these here parts, but was sort of a gift from my mom.  A while back ( it was actually two years ago) we were visiting my grandmother in Petal, Mississippi and we discovered The Corner Market.  This little grocery store has a great selection of imported/ exotic/can't-get-anything-like-this-in-Wayne County, MS/ Food Network-y items that this little Buckatunna girl had been living without, so she bought me a few.  I had fun trying out some new things, but a couple of them, like the tahini paste, were pushed to the back of the cabinet until this week.  I'm really glad I opened the jar even though I didn't see an expiration date, which made me a little nervous, but you know what?  I didn't get sick or anything.  I feel fine. ;o)  

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Baked Pita Chips

1(15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon tahini

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons water

1 clove garlic

2 roasted red peppers from a jar

2tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

About 6 whole pita pocket bread rounds

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

1. To make the hummus, process the chickpeas and next seven ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
2. For the pita chips, lightly brush both sides of each pita with olive oil.  Sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt.  Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 8 wedges.  For thinner chips, cut the pita in half horizontally first, then into wedges.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.