Cranberry Salsa

1 cup cranberries
2 Tbl orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 med red peppers diced
3 Tbl toasted pecans, chopped
2 tsp lime zest
1 Tbl orange zest
1 jalopeno diced
salt and pepper

Blend together

Balsamic Beans

Cut 4 oz of bacon in pieces and cook in saucepan until crisp. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, one 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes and 1 cup water, bring to a boil. Add two, 15 oz cans of white beans, rinsed well and drained, 2 Tbl each honey and balsamic vinegar #6, 1 sprig thyme and a pinch of crused red pepper flakes. Simmer until thickened, about 20 min. Season wth salt and top with chopped parsley.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

***Seriously...EASIEST RECIPE EVER!!!

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree
1 Spice cake mix
1/2 bag semisweet chocolate chips

(You can easily double the recipe by using 2 cake mixes, a full bag of chocolate chips, and the large can of pumpkin).

Combine cake mix and pumpkin until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill lined muffin tin with batter. Keep in mind that they don't really raise so you need to fill rather full.

Bake for 22-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Butternut Squash Soup

***Can you tell that fall is here and I'm on a soup kick???***

Ingredients:

1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups butternut squash, peeled, cubed
2 cups potatoes, chopped
32 oz chicken broth
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sage
1 pinch cayenne pepper or dash of hot sauce

In stockpot, melt butter and olive oil together. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and celery. Saute a few minutes until onion is tender, add pinch salt to soften onion as you saute.

Add in butternut squash. Stir, cook a couple minutes. Add potatoe, salt, sage, cayenne pepper or hot sauce. Stir to combine. Pour in chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and let cook 30-40 minutes until squash and potatoes are tender.

Transfer to a blender or use immersion blender to puree. Stir in brown sugar. Serve with chopped fresh parsley and a drizzle of cream.

Creamy Fresh Tomato and Basil Bisque

***This is a recipe I came up with after reading through several recipes for making soup with fresh tomatoes.***

Ingredients:

1 1/2 TBSP butter
1 small onion, chopped
pinch of salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TBSP flour
1 cup water
2 lbs peeled, seeded, fresh tomatoes
5 basil leaves, roughly chopped or torn
1 TBSP brown sugar
1/8 tsp cloves
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

In heavy stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and pinch of salt. Saute until onion is tender. Add flour, stir well, cooking off raw taste of flour. Add in water. Let come to a boil.

Reserve 3/4 cup of tomato pieces. Add other tomatoes to pot along with basil, brown sugar, and cloves. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.

Transfer to blender and blend until smooth. Return mixture to pot. Add salt, pepper, and cream. Heat thoroughly and serve.

Black Bean Soup

***Cook's note: Cut back on the carrot just a bit so you can achieve that really pretty black color for the soup.***

Ingredients:

1 TBSP olive oil
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3/4 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onion
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (3.5oz) can green chilies
3 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
juice of 1 lime


Optional toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, and chopped cilantro

Directions:

Place a large stock pot on the stovetop and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in the juice of one lime.

Place soup in blender or use an immersion blender. Puree soup until completely smooth.

Makes about 8 cups of soup. 1 cup of soup without toppings is 125 calories, 2 grams fat, and 8 grams of fiber.

Mini Carrot Cake Cups

Cups
1 yellow cake mix (9 oz)
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, peeled

Filling and Garnish
6 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup thawed frozen whipped topping
chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Combine cake mix, allspice, egg, and oil in bowl. (Note: Most cake mixes are about 18 oz. This calls for 9 oz. I used 1/2 of a regular cake mix. However, I think the small boxes of Jiffy cake mix are about 9 oz.) Stir until ingredients are moistened. Batter will be very thick. Grate carrots and stir 3/4 cup into batter. Set aside any remaining carrots for garnish, if desired. Divide batter evenly among mini muffin cups. Bake 11-13 minutes or until cups feel firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in shipped topping. Spoon cream cheese mixture into ziplock bag.

Remove pan from oven. Press tops of cups with lighly floured mini-tart shaper to make slight indentations. If you don't have a mini-tart shaper, another object in your kitchen may work. Cool in pan 3 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan and cool another 5 minutes. Trim corner of cream cheese-filled bag. Pipe filling evenly into cups. Garnish cups with chopped walnuts and remaining grated carrots, if desired.