Black Bean Salsa

Here is a recipe stolen from an Abilene coffee shop. Enjoy!

1 can corn (i like the gold & white)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 bunch green onions
Juice of a small lime or 1/2 a biggin'
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Put it all together and serve with chips and sour cream. You can add cilantro, too, as the original recipe called for. It's my fall-back party food.

Elegant Artichoke Cups

This is a Pampered Chef Recipe

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
24 square wonton wrappers
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic pressed
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush wonton wrappers with vegetable oil and press them into mini-muffin pan (oil side down). Bake 6 minutes or just until edges of wrappers are light brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Meanwhile combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Fill each wonton cup with 1 tbsp artichoke mixture, sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Bake 8 minutes or until edges of wontons are golden brown and cheese begins to melt.

Mexican Cornbread Casserole

I tried this recipe I found from my friend, Rachel's, recipe blog. It was really easy and really yummy. Click on the title to see the recipe.

The only thing I changed was I used 2 packets of the yellow cornbread mix instead of the sweet cornbread mix.

Cranberry Pork Roast

I made this last week and it was really good even though it sounds kinda weird.

1 to 1 1/2 lb pork roast (you can also do a pork loin but you'll have a lot of sauce left)
1 can Cranberry sauce (whole or jellied - I used whole)
Catalina Dressing
1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Place meat in Crock Pot. Cover with Catalina Dressing (use enough to cover the meat), Cranberry Sauce and Onion Soup Mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Rice Krispie Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the cookies that I made for game night.. a few of you had asked for the recipe, so here it is! Enjoy :)

1 cup butter (2 sticks).. yes it's a lot, which is why they're good, right?
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies (cereal)
1 1/2 cups Quick Oats
12 oz. chocolate chips

Beat butter, sugars, egg, milk, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add oil and blend well. Stir in cereal, oats, and chocolate chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees.

Bacon Potato Soup

2/3 cup lean bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp flour
6 cups beef bouillon
4 medium potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks (optional, I think they thicken the soup)
Parsley, salt, pepper to taste
Shredded cheese as topping if desired.

In heavy saucepan or dutch oven, brown bacon. If you don't use lean bacon, you may want to drain off some of the drippings, but be sure to leave enough to brown the onion and flavor the soup. Add chopped onion and cook over low heat until onion is tender, not brown. Add some beef bouillon and blend in flour to thicken, then gradually add the rest of the bouillon. Add potatoes, cover and simmer about 45 minutes or until potatoes are done. In a small bowl, blend together until smooth: sour cream, milk, and egg yolks (I leave these out). Spoon a little of the hot broth into the cream mixture and then slowly stir warmed mixture into hot soup. Do not allow to boil. Add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste and cheese if desired.

Servings: 4-5

Layered Toffee Cake

2 cups (1 pint) whipping cream
1/2 cup caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 prepared angel food cake (I make mine sometimes from a box mix or just buy already baked in the store)
Heath crushed toffee bits (in the baking isle by the chocolate chips)

In a mixing bowl, beat cream just until it begins to thicken. Gradually add the ice cream topping and vanilla, beating until soft peaks form. The orginal recipe says to cut the the cake in 3 layers and frost between adding the toffee bits, but I keep things easy and just keep the cake whole and frost the outside and then sprinkle the toffee bits on the top and sides. Store in the refrigerator.

You can also use cool whip instead of the whipping cream and add the caramel topping to it, but cool whip already has sugar so make sure to reduce the amount of caramel topping so it doesn't come out too sweet.