Easy Pizza Sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cups water (adding more if necessary to achieve thickness you desire)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Mix together all ingredients. Mix well and let stand several hours to let flavors blend. No cooking necessary, just spread on dough.

Banana Topping

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices

In a small saucepan, combine butter, pumpkin pie spice, molasses, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, add bananas then lower heat and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove syrup from heat, cover and keep warm. Serve over French toast, pancakes or waffles.

**Note-This topping is a great alternative to real maple syrup, which is quite expensive. Now you have a tasty alternative that isn't expensive and doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup.

Quick Chunky Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a medium pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for another 15 minutes.

**Note-Although I have a recipe that makes 10 cups of freezeable, no cook tomato sauce, this is a good recipe to have on hand when you are out of jarred tomato sauce and/or the freezeable sauce (or you just don't have time to wait to defrost your frozen sauce!)

Citrus Vinaigrette

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey

Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake to combine. Should keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

**Note-This dressing goes especially well with spinach salad and other softer leaf lettuce. The dressing itself is incredibly light and would not stand up to a sturdier leaf like romaine.

Holly Jolly Hot Chocolate

1 packet of instant hot chocolate mix
1 spoonful of instant coffee or enough brewed coffee for one cup

Combine hot chocolate mix and instant coffee in the bottom of a mug. Pour boiling water over top until full. Stir to combine-Enjoy!

OR

Put hot chocolate mix in the bottom of your mug and pour in brewed coffee over the top. Enjoy!

**Note-Probably best to use a normal coffee mug and not a super big one otherwise you dilute the hot chocolate too much.
**Note-This is also extra yummy with any sort of extract that goes well with mocha flavor-peppermint, almond, orange, etc. Just add it sparingly at first until you find the amount that works for you. A candy cane also is delicious!

Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Fruit Dip

1/4 cup Cream Cheese, softened
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and serve with cut up fruit of your choice.

**Note-I love this recipe because it can help you use up left over cream cheese, which, at my house, I never know what to do with and also it's a great dip to entice your children to eat their fruit-especially for a snack!
**Note-Using the milk makes it a more runny dip, so if you'd like yours a bit more solid, use less milk to start out with and add more as necessary.

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon course salt

**Note, this is probably equivalent to 1-2 packages of the premade taco seasoning. I use about 2 tablespoons to equal about one package. You probably will want to make extra of this seasoning since it will last a while in your pantry.

Zoo Day Snack Mix

3 cups animal crackers
1 ½ cups banana chips
¾ c chopped, dried mangoes
¾ cups peanuts
¾ cups dried berries or raisins

Mix together and divide evenly among snack bags (makes 6-12 bags).

**Note-This is a perfect snack for the zoo because the bananas are for monkeys, peanuts for elephants, mango for bats and berries for birds. Feel free to add other things to the mix that fit the zoo theme.

Easy (Freezable) Red Sauce

(No need to cook it ahead of time! Just assemble!)

12oz tomato paste
2 cups hot water
2 T dried parsley
2 t dried, minced onion
1 T minced garlic
1 T sugar
2 t salt
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
28 oz tomato sauce
28 oz diced tomatoes

Freezer bags-amount varies by how much you want to put in each bag.

1. Mix tomato paste and hot water together til smooth in a large bowl. Stir in seasonings.
2. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Do not cook
3. Divide sauce among freezer bags as desired.**
4. Freeze

To use

1. Thaw in fridge.
2. In a recipe calling for sauce, simmer 20 minutes and pour over pasta.
3. In a recipe that is being baked, no need to simmer first, just use and enjoy!

**This makes 10 cups of sauce. I like to divide it into 3 cup increments, similar to what you'd get in a spaghetti sauce jar.
**This is a tasty, super inexpensive, and easy sauce to make.

Chex Muddy Buddies

9 cups Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Wheat Chex Cereal (or any combination)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, pour cereal(s). Set aside. In a 1-quart microwaveable container, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on high for one minute. Stir. Continue to microwave in 30 second increments until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal(s), stirring until evenly coated. Pour into a 2-quart plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag and shake until well coated. Spread mixture on wax paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

Original Chex Party Mix

3 cups corn Chex cereal
3 cups rice Chex cereal
3 cups wheat Chex cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite sized pretzels
1 cup bite sized bagel chips (or regular sized bagel chips broken into bite sized pieces), garlic flavor if desired
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (or just one teaspoon regular salt)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Oven at 250. Mix cereals together in a large bowl. Microwave butter until melted. Stir in remaining seasonings. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir to coat. Transfer to a large baking dish/pan and bake for about one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool then store in an air tight container.

Peachy Iced Tea Sangria

4 herbal peach tea bags
4 teaspoons sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 peaches, sliced
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries

Make herbal tea using 2 cups boiling water and soaking tea bags for 5 minutes. Add sugar to hot tea concentrate and stir until sugar is dissolved. Transfer concentrated tea to a container. Add 2 cups of cold water. Add remaining ingredients and let sit in fridge for an hour. Serve over ice.

**Note-you can serve this using any combination of fruit that you like. I've used a few cups of frozen mixed fruit and let it defrost in the tea in the fridge while the flavors meld.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine and store in a container. Use wherever "pumpkin pie spice" is called for.