Give It Away Now

After a full ten days of blissed out hanging out, it's almost time to head back to the world of deadlines, meetings, and paperwork. Toady has been mostly about putting the homestead back in order so we can function around here for the next four days with all the rush that goes along with work and school days.

Hubs and I headed out to return library books earlier today and pick up some groceries. I've got 3/4 of a #10 can of chickpeas in my fridge and was completely out of tahini to make hummus, so we made a giant loop and jaunted over to Earth Fare to pick some up and check the place out while the registers were open. I've got to tell you, I was a bit skeptical on how much I'd spend in there, since health food stores are like the mall to this granola mom, but I made it out without using my entire $50 gift card and had two bags full of stuff! If you haven't signed up yet for their weekly "free meal" coupons, you really, really should~ we're having a chicken dinner tonight for nothing. I scored the dinner, my hummus, a gallon of milk, 2 boxes of Kashi cereal, a gallon of wildflower honey made right here in Medina, and a slew of other stuff AND bought a reusable tote to carry it out in (I forgot mine in the car, but needed to replace one with a hole in it anyways). All that for UNDER $40, and an extreme couponer I am NOT. :) All of it is healthy and much of it is local, which made my life a LOT less hectic as I prepare for the grueling week ahead of me. Thanks Earth Fare!

Now I can make some yummy hummus for packing in lunches and stave off fast food for one more week. DIY hummus is one of my favorite things to make here at the SemiFarm. It's so easy and inexpensive, if you tried it, you'd save ton of cash  and never buy the prepared stuff again. All you need is a blender or food processor and a few other things. Here's the recipe to give it a try:

Hummus in Under 5 Minutes
Put all this stuff in a blender or food processor:
1 clove minced garlic
1 (19 oz) can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), along with half of the liquid from the can
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon salt

Turn it on and that is IT folks! DONE! Serve with a bit of olive oil and pepper on top. Keeps really well in the fridge, travels well in lunchboxes, and makes a great dip for baby carrots, pretzels and other edible things little hands like to hold.

Just in case you need some tahini yourself to try this out and as my way of offering some emotional support you and your family in your upcoming crazy workweeks,  Corley @ Earth Fare hooked me up with a $50 gift card to give out to one lucky reader so they can go and check it out for themselves. Just share with me a quick and easy recipe your family loves in the comments to enter.  Let's say we keep this open until Saturday, May 21, 2011 @ midnight for those of you who might work all week. Next week, we'll pick a post at random and mail off the gift card.

Keep in mind, even though I love the Fairlawn store and the folks in it, Earth Fare had locations across the country, so you don't need to be near me to win. You can find a list of their other location on their website.

Looking forward to sharing some recipes and making new friends, even as I am not looking forward to going back to work. Good luck!