Pico De Gallo

Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
Alterations by Christina

3 large tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 T diced J peppers
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, diced
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 limes, juiced

Combine and season with salt and pepper. Best left to marinade at least 1 hour.

Tropical Salsa

From Silvia Woodward

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole corn, drained
6 roma tomatoes, diced
1 red or yellow pepper (or both), diced
2 avacados, diced
2 green onions, chopped finely
juice of 1 lime
1 package dry italian dressing seasoning

Mix beans, corn tomatoes and peppers. Add italian seasoning. Leave overnight. Before serving add avacado and lime juice. Serve with lime flavored tortilla chips

Mom's Cheesecake

I have sampled many cheesecakes in my life, but few compare to my Mom's. This recipe is restaurant worthy.
3 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine ingredients, pour over baked crust and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes
1 ½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup white sugar
pour over baked portion of cake and bake at 425 for 6 minutes

Crust:
1 ½ cup vanilla wafer crumbs
½ cube buttercinnamon
Combine ingredients, press in a spring-form pan and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cook cake on the counter for 1 hour, then refridgerate.

Joyful oreo balls

1 package oreos (you can use any flavor)

1- 8-oz pkg cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup cream or a few tbsp of oil

1. grind up oreos in food processor until they are a very fine consistency (all the white filling should be gone)

2. Combine vanilla and cream cheese with a blender

3. Roll into balls (whatever size you prefer), refrigerate for 45 minutes

4. Melt chocolate chips and cream (or oil) until smooth (I melt them in microwave about 30 seconds at a time and stir, but you can use a double broiler if you are intense).

5. dip your cooled oreo balls in the chocolate and place on a cookie sheet covered in wax. Store in the fridge...delish!!

Grandma Johnson's Mustard Sauce

No ham is complete without this mustard sauce
Make sure to use Coleman's dry mustard. It comes in a yellow tin and can be found in the spice section of your local grocer (Wal Mart doesn't carry it).
1/2 c. sugar
3-5 T dry mustard (use Coleman's-- generally, I use 3 T and think that's plenty spicy. The original recipe calls for 5)
1 scant t salt
1 t cornstarch
2 T butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. vinegar

Mix dry ingredients. Add remaining liquid ingredients. Cook slowly over double boiler about 15 min or until thick, stirring constantly.

Orange Rolls

I've been looking for a good orange roll recipe. Can't wait to try these.

Orange Rolls
from Darcee Waddoups
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs
4 TBSP softened butter
4 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 TBSP yeast

Put ingredients in bread machine and select dough setting. Refrigerate. When ready to roll out, spread with orange past (below) and cut out as you would cinnamon rolls. Bake in muffin tins or on a cookie sheet. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. Glaze while still hot.
Orange Paste:
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
grated rind of 1 orange
Squeeze juice from 1/2 of orange and blend well with /2 cup cream cheese frosting. (I just use the frosting in the tub.)

Almond Joy Bars

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but they look delish!

Almond Joy Bars
From Darcee Waddoups
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp soda
1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, sugar and soda. Set aside. In saucepan mix butter, water and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Pour over flour mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. Bake @ 375 for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.Filling:1/2 can sweetened condensed milk1 1/2 powdered sugar14 oz. coconut1 tsp vanillaMix milk and vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar then add coconut. Spread evenly over cooled bars. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped almonds.Frosting:1/2 cup-1 cup butter **2 cups chocolate chipsMelt butter and chocolate. Drizzle over bars then spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Cool completely before cutting into squares.**note: The more butter you add, the more of a 'glaze' you'll get. I tend to like it (if I'm not worrying about butter amounts!) a little thinner, but some of my kids like it better with a thicker, more chocolaty topping.