Our church small group met at our home tonight, so I spent the day cleaning house and preparing some goodies.  I made Pumpkin Bars and Italian Salsa.  Pumpkin Bars are one of Trav’s all-time favorite sweet treats and are from a recipe I picked up years ago at Williams-Sonoma.  The Italian Salsa (I actually made this name up) is from a recipe I received from a co-worker.  Both are easy breezy to make and always crowd pleasers.  Just in case you’re wanting to add a couple of new dishes to your holiday repertoire, here are the recipes:

PUMPKIN BARS                                                                                  

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 C. melted butter

3 large eggs

1 jar Pecan Pumpkin Butter (available at Williams-Sonoma)

1/8 C. milk

1 Tbs. flour

1/4 C. sugar

1/4 C. butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease a 9×13 pan with butter.

Reserve 1 cup of yellow cake mix.  Mix remaining cake mix with 1/2 C. melted butter and 1 egg.  Press into bottom of prepared pan.

Mix pumpkin pecan butter with 2 eggs and milk.  Pour over the cake mixture in pan. 

Mix reserved cake mixture with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup butter.  Cut with a pastry blender until butter is pea-sized and mixture clumps together.  Crumble over top of pumpkin mixture. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool before cutting.

ITALIAN SALSA

1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 green pepper, diced

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 Cup cherry tomatoes, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 Cup aged balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.  Serve with tortilla chips.  Flavor gets better and better the longer it sits.  It’s also great over chicken or fish!