Party Food Part 2: Beet Hummus and Green Smoothie Dessert Shooters!

Last week I posted recipes for Chilled Carrot Soup Shooters and Roasted Cauliflower Hummus (yum!). This week, I'm bringing you another kind of hummus AND something to satisfy your party guests' sweet teeth without slapping them in the face with a sugar bomb.

Now, I personally never read the whole story behind other bloggers' recipes. I just scroll straight down to the recipes SO: I'm just going to get down to business !!

Ready?

​Let's make some food!

​Beet Hummus

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients: 
4 medium beets (the reason I'm not telling you how many pounds here is because sometimes when you buy beets, the greens are heavier than the beets themselves)
3 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 roasted garlic cloves (since I'd already roasted one head of garlic for the cauliflower hummus, I used cloves from that head instead of raw; read about how to roast garlic here)
1 tbsp cumin
Zest from 2 lemons
Good pinch of kosher salt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375. 
• Lightly oil the beets, place on a foil-lined backing sheet and then cover with another piece of foil.
• Roast in the oven for 60 minutes or until a knife can pierce straight through.
• Once the beets have cooled off, peel them. I highly suggest wearing disposable gloves if you have them so your nails don't stain red. At the minimum, wear an apron. Beets stain like crazy.
• Cube up the beets and place them in a blender. 
• Add all of the remainder of the ingredients into a blender or Vitamin and blend until you get a hummus-y consistency. 

NOTE: This recipe is adapted from one I found at SimplyRecipes.com; I thought the original was a little too runny so I added tahini. I also found that it tasted better 24 hours after making it so don't be afraid to make ahead!

Green Smoothie Dessert Shooter

Makes about 6 cups (so, about 16 3-oz shot pours)

Ingredients:
3 big handfuls of baby spinach
4 sprigs of cilantro
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 of an avocado
2 cups of whatever kind of milk you want (I prefer cashew or flax seed milk)
Some kind of berry for garnish

Directions:

• Place the spinach into the blender first. Then load the rest of the ingredients on top, milk going in last. You may need more milk to get the consistency you desire. 
• Garnish each shooter with a berry of your choice.
• If you find yourself with extra smoothie, you can freeze them in individual serving baggies or make popsicles!