Mexican-Style Salsa

2 - 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes or 1- 28 oz can
1/3 cup Cilantro
1/4 cup Onion, diced
3 Tablespoons Jalapenos, diced
+ 1 Tablespoon of Jalapenos juice from the jar
1/4 teaspoon Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

You can use a food processor for this or if you're like me and don't have a food processor you can use your Nutri Bullet.

Mix Onion, Jalapenos, and Jalapenos juice in the Nutri Bullet.  Pour in the rest of the ingredients and mix well with the Nutri Bullet.  (I just left my Nutri Bullet running for about a minute.

*This looks really liquid-y at first.  After resting in the fridge it thickened up to be more of the consistency of what you would find at Mexican restaurants.  It also gets more of a kick after resting in the fridge.

**My husband prefers this salsa over anything else.

(Recipe found from www.itcomesfullcircle.com)

Gluten free sausage cheese balls

3/4 cup Bisquick Gluten Free mix

4 ounces of turkey sausage

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or blend of cheeses

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed rosemary or basil

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and shape into 1 inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered 22-26 minutes until light and golden brown.

(Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker website)

Quesadillas

Refer to 'Deceptively Delicious' cookbook.

This recipe hides beans and butternut squash purée in it. 

I tweaked the recipe by adding a little ranch to the sour cream/bean mixture.

Sprinkling more cheese on top after spreading the butternut squash/cheese mixture, and sprinkling bacon on as well.

Matt said this just might be the best quesadilla he's ever had, plus maybe his favorite meal I've ever made. He didn't want to know what was in it.

Pumpkin Pie

For Pie Crust:

2 cups of sifted flour

1 cup of shortening

Shake of salt.

Cut these ingredients together and set aside.

1/4 cup of cold water

1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

1 egg

Mix these ingredients together then pour into dough mixture above. Cut these ingredients together. 

*don't over mix.

Wrap dough and place in fridge for at least an hour. Use within a week. (This dough is enough to make 2 pies)

When ready to use take half of the dough and roll it out using flour to keep from sticking. Once large enough to fit in pie tin lay in pie tin, cut off the excess edges, decorate the edges as you wish, prick the potom of the dough with a fork, and make sure no edges of the dough are hanging over the tin as they will most likely burn.

Preheat oven to 325 at this point. 

For Filling:

1 cup of pumpkin

2 heaping Tablespoons of flour

1 egg

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

1 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 tsp each of all spice, ground cloves, and nutmeg.

Shake of salt

About 2 Tablespoons of margarine (melted)

Mix all ingredients together well. Dump in pie tin over crust and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

For homemade whip topping:

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1/3 a cup of sugar

1/3 tsp of vanilla

Mix well. *tip- use cold ingredients/cookware.

(Recipe from my dad who found it in a church cookbook)

Applesauce Muffins

*Refer to 'Deceptively Delicious' cookbook.

This recipe hides carrot purée in it for picky eaters. And might I add these muffins are delicious! Even Madelyn loves them which says something.

Cheesy chicken enchiladas

3 cups of shredded chicken

1 cup of sour cream

2 cans of cream of chicken

3 cups of cheese

1 small can of green chiles

Tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sour cream and cream of chicken in a large mixing bowl until well mixed. Stir in 2 cups of cheese (reserve 1 cup) and green chiles. Mix in cooked/shredded chicken. Place heaping spoonfuls into center of tortilla, roll tortilla, place in baking dish. Continue with as many tortillas as you can fill or with as many as you want to make and save the rest of the stuffing for another day. Just be sure to save a little bit of stuffing to spread over the top as well with the remaining cup of cheese sprinkled over the top. Cook for 40 minutes.

(Recipe from my sister)

Garbage Sandwiches

Polish sausage

French fries

Mountain bread

Mayo

Really you can put anything you want on these! I slice the polish sausage in half and cook them with the fries. These make a delicious, easy meal.

(Recipe from a dear friend)