Black Bean Salsa

It's no secret that I love chips and salsa. Like it's possibly the worst kept secret in the whole world. I'd rather sit down with a bag of chips and a bottle of salsa and call it dinner than eat many, many things. Not that I've ever done that...ok, let's be real, that happens many, many, Sunday nights. This is a salsa that I've gotten as a neighbor gift at Christmas and because it never tastes the same when you do it yourself I resisted the urge to recreate it for literally years. But, whoever it was that brought it to me that year hasn't brought it again and I can't remember who it was to ask for the recipe so this is my version. Still pretty darned tasty if I say so myself. It's definitely better the second day but if you prefer your avocados bright green add them just before serving.
Black Bean Salsa

2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed
3 avocados, peeled, cored, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced fine
1 orange bell pepper, diced fine
1 green bell pepper, diced fine
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, diced fine
1 can yellow/white corn drained
3 cans regular Rotel
1 bunch cilantro stems removed and chopped finely
3 TBS garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste

Add all ingredient together in a large bowl. Taste and adjust flavors as you go. Chill several hours or overnight. Adjust seasoning level after the salsa sits overnight and the flavors blend together. Serve with tortilla chips.

Buttermilk Syrup

I can't believe how crazy busy I've gotten in the past couple of months. It feels like I'm never home and when I am I'm too tired to think about anything more complicated than pancakes or waffles. Fast and easy kind of dinner. It's an additional bonus that it's not a repeat because who actually has time for breakfast in the morning??? Not me, or anyone else that lives with me.

One thing that makes breakfast for dinner a bit more special and makes  it feel like mom cares about you is homemade syrup. Don't get me wrong, there will always be a place for Mrs. Butterworth but sometimes it's nice to takes a few extra minutes and do something without all the preservatives that's rich and buttery and totally not good for you in an oh, so good way. This syrup is one that pops up all over the place. Most everyone I know has a version of it and they are all good. This is the one I use. Take that for what it's worth. :) It's good over all breakfast foods and I have to stop myself from just eating it with a spoon out of a bowl!

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/2 c. buttermilk (or 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice and enough milk to make 1/2 c. let sit for 5 minutes)
1 cube butter (don't use margarine)
1 T. Karo syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil for 1 minute in a small saucepan stirring constantly. Add soda and vanilla. Serve warm.

Raspberry Peach Jam

I have always loved raspberry jam. Strawberry is OK, but if I have a choice I will choose raspberry without hesitation. Peach has always been eh in my book so I've never actually made a whole batch of peach jam. I like it if someone else gives it to me, like my mother in law, but I never do it on my own.

A few weeks ago I had a few peaches that weren't really enough to do much of anything else and I was completely peached out on the treat front so I decided to do a raspberry peach jam combo. I'd talked about it with my neighbor and hers turned out so good I needed some of my own. Of course, I made this decision late at night without any prior planning or actual fresh raspberries so I had to improvise a little. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that jazz...

I couldn't find any pectin in my pantry, I had a bag of raspberries that was a little freezer burned and a few peaches. Throw in a some sugar, a box of raspberry Jello and see what happens! It was jam magic I tell ya. Seriously. Magic. Yum. Can I eat this stuff with a spoon...wait, I did that. It is good on toast, would make fabulous syrup or ice cream topping and is good just straight. :) An added bonus is the easy. I did it again the next week and used frozen peaches given to me by a friend and it worked like a charm. I may never make straight raspberry jam again. I have a bag of strawberries that are going to be the next peach ___ combination. Maybe this week. Or the next. Or sometime in December. You know, when I have a spare minute.

Raspberry Peach Jam
3 pints

5 c. white sugar
4 c. peaches; peeled and sliced
1 10 oz pkg raspberries (fresh would also work)
1 small box raspberry Jello

Combine peaches and berries in food processor and pulse until chopped. (I like it fairly smooth but if you wanted chunks you could just put them in your pot and mash them with a potato masher while you cooked it.)

In a large heavy pot combine fruit and sugar. Bring mixture to a steady boil. Stir constantly to avoid scorching and cook for 25 minutes until mixture is medium thick. Remove pan from heat and add Jello. Stir well until Jello dissolves. Pour into pint jars. Cover with parafin or process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Pizza Rolls

I have an addiction to The Sister's Cafe. I love their blog in every way a blog can be adored. I think the fact that it's sister's working together on it makes me like it even more. Add to that the fact that nearly everything I have tried from their stash of recipes has been a hit and it's blog love.

Tonight I had to take dinner to a friend and decided that I was too lazy to do both pizza and breadsticks so pizza rolls was the choice of the day. I used my own pizza dough recipe, their pizza roll method and made up my own marinara sauce. Quite frankly the sauce made the meal and I can't wait to have more of it for lunch tomorrow. I think I'm going to have it over chicken like chicken Parmesan but that's another post.

Here we go.

White Pizza Dough
2 pizza crusts

2 c warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 Tb active dry yeast
6 Tbsp olive oil
5 c flour
2 tsp salt
Put warm water in bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast and let proof for 1o minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients. Mix until a ball, knead 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in mixer. Let rise for 1.5 hours. Roll out and arrange pizza toppings on top. Bake in 400 degree oven (on preheated pizza stone for best results).

Pizza Rolls

pizza dough

mozzarella cheese, shredded or cubed
pepperoni, cut into fourths
marinara or pizza sauce
1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
1/2 small onion, diced small
1/4 cup chopped olives

Roll pizza dough out into a large rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 12 pieces. Add 1 tsp sauce to each piece of dough.  Layer the toppings in the center of each square of dough; about 2-3 Tb total of toppings on each. Now stretch and fold the dough around the toppings, pinching to seal edges. This is the tricky part - the more toppings you use, the harder it gets to tuck them all within the dough!

Now place seam side down in a lightly greased casserole dish or glass baking dish. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle generously with garlic salt and Italian seasoning. (oregano, basil and thyme, etc) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until rolls are light brown. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.

Marinara Sauce


2 small onions, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced fine or shredded
2 ribs celery, diced fine
1/3 c. olive oil
2 lg cans crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1½ tsp basil
1½ tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs sugar (if desired)

Heat oil over med high heat. Sauté onions and garlic until onions are translucent.

Add remaining vegetables and sauté until tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for approx an hour until sauce is thickened. Adjust spices to taste.