I buy pita and then toast it to make my own crackers almost all the time. Toasting store-bought pita for crackers is cost effective and since you are toasting, the downside of the pita not being perfectly fresh is minimal. I often brush them with olive oil and greek seasoning or some kind of seasoning, there are recipes out there for many variations. Hummus, eggplant dip and toasted pita are my standard "go to" appetizer for a party. I also make a lower fat spinach dip using white beans for some of the creaminess. You could also just do a standard thin slice bread and toast that, like bruschetta. I've done that too, but I really love pita. I used to live near a Middle Eastern Bakery and could get it fresh. If you're really into baking something fresh, you could do that old standard spinach dip in a bread bowl, using feta cheese and middle eastern seasoning for it. Or make some kind of focaccia, my friends do that all the time for their parties. You can even buy pizza dough and roll that thin and top with roasted eggplant, etc.

Well, today reinforced that yes, I have issues with over-extending myself. I went to a different grocery store to get parsley and lettuce and I looked at their pita bread. A bag was $3. It seemed to be a decent quality but I thought that was a lot. So this afternoon I made a double batch of pita and will toast it with zaatar seasoning when I am done working. I also have a problem with using the oven for just one thing so earlier when I was roasting the eggplant, I made cheesecake squares. It was definitely a challenge to make sure that the money saved on pita did not go to Domino's.

You are a better person than me Tish! :) Wish I could get an invite to your house! Yummy!

I bet your food was the hit of the pot luck. Sounds wonderful.

I explored an Indian grocery store the other day and came away with a 2 pound bag of red lentils and a bag of chick pea flour. Can you share your red lentil recipe, please?

Sally

Homemade pita chips are really easy to make.

Sally, Here is a link to the recipe I use. Red Lentil Kofte from Almost Turkish Recipes. To make them gluten free, I sub millet or quinoa for the bulgur. I also use less oil than in the recipe. It is a wonderful vegetarian and healthy dish.

Pinkmountain, thank you for your kind words. It would be an honor to cook for you some time. I have to confess though, part of the motivation in doing it from scratch is I am toying with the idea of becoming a one income family and some of the anxiety related to that is a great motivator to get into the kitchen.

I bake my own bread a lot of the time, but I just do it the no-brainer way in the bread machine. Saves lots of money if you like bread. The reason I don't do pita or chappatis, sweet rolls, or any kind of bread that need much handling is I am basically dough-averse, lol!