Saving Money Making My Own Bagel Chips & Hummus

I do like me some super-crunchy, hearty bagel chips.  But I don't know why a teeny-weeny bag of bagel chips costs almost $4.  What do they make those bagels with to make them cost so much? 

Well, I had a bunch of bagels that were taking up too much valuable space in my freezer and decided I had to do away with them.  After defrosting them, I made some bagel chips.  And it's pretty simple, really.

Instructions: 
1. Thinly slice the bagels with a serrated knife (Tip: Slice the bagels in half to form semi-circles and then put the cut side down and slice down.  This provides a firm base for the thin slices you'll be cutting)
2. Brush bagels with a mixture of olive oil and garlic powder (This is a great "painting" activity for kids!)
3. Sprinkle with coarse salt
4. Bake at 275 F for 30 minutes until crisp (they should not be chewy at all)

I only used 3 bagels and got more than 2 bags worth and it probably cost me $1 to make. 

A mix of everything bagels and wheat bagels

And what better way to enjoy bagel chips than with a thick, hearty dip.  Hummus is another super easy recipe with ingredients that are staples in my pantry.  This time I jazzed it up with the single, lone roasted red pepper left in my fridge that was calling out to be used.

A big scoop of roasted red pepper hummus

Instructions:
1. In a blender (I like to use my Vitamix for this) combine a can of drained and rinsed chick peas, a drizzle of olive oil, roasted red pepper (or roasted garlic), a sprinkle of salt, and give it a nice whiz until smooth.
2. Enjoy with your favorite dipper! (Veggie sticks, bagel chips, pita chips are all yum with this!)

Note: This isn't your traditional hummus recipe, which calls for tahini (a sesame paste) and lemon juice.  If I had those items I would add them, but I didn't.  So I suppose if I wanted to be more accurate I could call this a roasted red pepper dip, instead of hummus.  But it's quicker to write hummus.