Cannellini & Garlic Dip

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet because I also have something sweet and special in the oven that I must keep my eye on. This dip is a great snack and I'd be willing to bet it would be a great party pleaser too! I love it so much, that I think I'm going to have this dip for dinner. It's a little bit spicy, totally garlicky and a whole lot of deliciousness. I'm going to scoop this dip with homemade pita chips (see below) and some carrot sticks, but you can scoop away with whatever your favorite bread or veggies are.  Or you can just eat it by the spoonful - at least I did for the first few bites. Fair warning - the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and if you don't like to feel that heat on the back of your tongue, I'd recommended starting with 1/4 teaspoon and working you way up to 1/2 a teaspoon. That's what I'll probably do next time, it's just a bit too spicy for my taste. If you are like me and add too much heat, you can calm it down with some more lemon juice. Once you try this dip, you'll be addicted. That and you'll be keeping away the vampires when you eat it. Can you smell my garlic breath from where you are?

Ingredients and the essential tool of the recipe - mini food processor (which I forgot I had. It was buried in the pantry, oops).

Pre blend

creamy dip to be enjoyed with homemade pita chips and carrot sticks. YUM!

Cannellini & Garlic Bean Dip (adapted from sugarcrafter.net)

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all the ingredients in your food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

Super easy and super delicious. Now, I bet you are wondering about those pita chips. Of course you can buy them at the store (Trader Joes has a fab pita chip selection), but if you have pitas in the house, this is the way to go (I really need to try to make my own pitas!). All you need to do is preheat your oven to 450 degrees and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Then, cut your pitas into 8 pieces (you can do as many pitas and make as many chips as you want). Place them on the cookie sheet (like below) and spray the tops with non-stick cooking spray. This will help them get brown and crunchy. Bake the chips for about 5 minutes, but you may need to go longer pending how crunchy you like them. Just don't walk away and forget to set the timer because you'll have burnt pitas!

I'm off to curl up with my tivo and dig into this yumminess. I might even lick the bowl.