Chick Pea-Avacado Salad

Ingredients:

1 can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium Avacados, peeled and cubed

Lemon

1-2 cups Medium Chunky Salsa (I used Garden Gourmet)

Place avacado in a large bowl and toss lightly in the juice of one fresh squeezed lemon. Add the beans and half of the salsa and toss lightly. Continue adding salsa until salad is well-coated but not drowning! Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pkg whole wheat mini-penne or rigatoni, cooked, rinsed and drained

Grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 purple onion, diced

1 ea. green pepper and red pepper, chopped into chunks

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped into chunks

Turkey pepperoni, chopped

1 bottle Newman's Own Lighten Up Balsamic Vinagrette

Place all ingredients in large bowl and toss to mix. Add vinagrette and continue tossing until salad is covered but not drenched. Chill. Stir well before serving.

Cherry Bombs

This isn't really a recipe for good food, but these little gems are big fun during the holidays, and they need a month to marinate, so now is the time. Be warned: a few go a long way toward generating giddy behavior, particularly among those who stand by the tray and pop them like candy. They're loaded. The Cherry Bombs, that is. And the people who consume them, if they aren't careful. These things pack a powerful punch!

Ingredients:

1 large jar maraschino cherries WITH stems

1 bottle Everclear grain alcohol

Dipping chocolate (optional)

Drain all of the liquid from the jar of cherries. Fill jar with Everclear, seal tightly, and stash out of sight for about a month so the cherries can steep and marinate fully. On party day, drain the Everclear and remove cherries carefully from jar, keeping stems intact. If desired, coat cherries in melted dipping chocolate and refrigerate until chocolate sets. Arrange Cherry Bombs on a platter for serving, keeping WELL OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN!

Notes: If you can't find Everclear, these can be made with other liquor, as well. I've tried them with Vodka, Bourbon, and even Amaretto, all to rave reviews. When you drain the liquor off the cherries at the end of the thirty-some days, don't throw it out! It makes a fine addition to holiday punch or, in the case of the Amaretto, to mugs of steaming hot chocolate.