Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie Filling

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup apple butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 5-ounce-can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
1/3 cup whole milk

In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, apple butter, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon and mix well. Add the eggs and milks, stirring to combine. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center has set. Cool completely before serving or storing in the refrigerator.

Note: This recipe assumes you already have a pie crust, hence the "filling" in the title. Also, if you've never made a pumpkin pie before (as I hadn't until I did this), the batter will be super runny. But it still turned out great. It's a great use of apple butter if you can't find another one for it.

(From the Washington Post)

Bruschetta

2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

2 T. olive oil

1 T. fresh oregano

1 t. fresh basil

2 t. fresh parsley

1/2 t. sugar

dash salt

1 clove garlic, minced

dash of balsamic vinegar

Mix everything together. Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice loaf of french bread and brush the tops with olive oil. Put the bread in the oven for five minutes. Remove bread from oven and top with bruschetta and parmesan cheese. Put back in the oven for another five minutes.

Any leftovers can be refrigerated and then reheated at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes.

Notes from e: Although it would probably be much better with fresh herbs, I couldn't justify the cost for something I thought only I would eat. So I used dried herbs. I use 1 t. of the dried oregano, 1/2 t. of dried basil, and 1 t. of the dried parsley. And it still tasted great.