Tonight's Dinner: Pita salad

Whenever I have hummus it's usually as an appetizer or condiment. It's a wonderful dip for vegetables or warm pita bread and also serves as the perfect spread when filling those little pita pockets. But I'd never considered using the hummus as a base for a salad dressing until my local Ralphs supermarket made the suggestion. It was so easy and such a nice alternative to my standard ranch or Italian dressing, I had to try it out. The end result had the same consistency as a Ceasar dressing but had the flavor of my favorite artichoke hummus. I added some pita chips and a few garbanzo beans and turned my standard pita sandwich into a wonderful dinner salad with half the carbs.

Pita salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of your favorite hummus
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 ounces baby spinach
• 1 (8 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup pita chips

Directions:

1. Whisk together the hummus and oil in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Place the spinach, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and pita chips in a large bowl. Drizzle the hummus dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

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Hummus crusted chicken
Lentil hummus