So I recently spent almost an entire week at the beach, which was the perfect way to end the summer. And as fun as that was, I really missed being a couch potato binge-watching shows on Netlfix  in the comfort of my own room 🙂

Now what’s binge-watching without some SNACKS?! I treated myself to some delicious chips & dips at home. I started with the tortilla chips, and then made the dips you can see in the picture below; classic salsa, guacamole, beetroot hummus & chili cheese!

They’re all pretty quick & easy to make, except for the chili cheese as you have to cook the chili first which takes some time, luckily, I had some leftover in my freezer 😉

Here’s how you can make your own chips & dips, which are really great for any movie/game night or just a lazy Saturday afternoon at home.

Tortilla chips:

Ingredients:

• Tortillas (I used 3 for this recipe)
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• First you need to dry the tortilla out a little bit, either leave it out of the fridge overnight or heat them in a pre-heated oven for 5 minutes on 180°C
• After you’ve dried them, start cutting them into little triangles (or whichever shape you want really).
• Heat oil in a frying pan, and start frying your chips for about 2 minutes per batch, because you don’t want them to burn or smoke up.
• Spread fried tortillas on a kitchen paper towel, let rest for a few minutes.
• Season with salt & pepper (optional) & serve.

Chili Cheese:

Ingredients:

• ½ kilo ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 tbsp chili powder (add more for spicier flavor)
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 tsp chopped jalapeno peppers
• ¾ kilo diced tomatoes
• 400 ml tomato sauce/puree
• 1 can chili beans (un-drained)
• Shredded mix cheddar (1 handful per dip bowl)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat
• Add the ground beef, onions and bell peppers. Sauté for 5 minutes, until beef is browned.
• Drain excess fat & add the chili powder, garlic, bay leaf, cumin, tomatoes, red chili beans, tomato sauce/puree, salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 & ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Add in the beans and let them cook for about 5 minutes.
• After you’ve cooked the chili, pour the amount you want per dip in an oven-safe bowl, top with the cheese and bake for 3 minutes + 3 minutes under the broiler.

Guacamole:

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 diced tomato (medium)
• ½ diced onion (small to medium)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Mash avocado with a fork (I like leaving a few lumps in).
• Add in all other ingredients & stir.
• Make this dip last as it’s best to eat IMMEDIATELY.

Beetroot Hummus:

Ingredients:

• 2medium sized beetroots (with skin)
• 1can chickpeas (400 grams/2 cups)drained and rinsed
• 2 ½tablespoonstahini
• 2clovesgarlic
• 1tablespoonlemon juice
• ½ teaspoonsalt
• ¼ teaspooncumin
• Water to thin

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 200°C.
• Wrap each beetroot in foil and roast for 1 to 2 hours (until soft and tender) then remove and let rest (skip this step if you have roasted beetroots).
• Peel the beetroot skin and chop them into chunks.
• Add the beetroot chunks, chickpeas and garlic into a food processor and blend for 1 minute.
• Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt, cumin, 1 tsp water and blend until the hummus becomes smooth and creamy.
• If you feel texture is too thick, add some more water.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or lime juice.
• Serve immediately or store in the fridge up to 1 week.

Classic Salsa:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of diced tomatoes
• 500 ml tomato puree/sauce.
• ¼chopped onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tbsp finely diced jalapenos
• ¼tspwhite sugar
• ¼tsp salt
• ¼tsp cumin
• ½cup chopped cilantro
• ½tbsp lime juiceDirections:
• Blend all ingredients in a food processor, until you get the desired consistency, which should still have some small bits of the tomatoes.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking & serve (if you have enough time, let it rest in the fridge a little to serve cold).
• Store in the fridge up to a week.

This concludes the recipes of my homemade chips & dips! These chips can pretty much go with any kind of dip, like regular hummus, cream cheese, queso or anything really. I’d love to hear your feedback via Instagram or here 🙂 especially if you recreate any of the stuff I post.