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Okay, it’s the holidays. I’m now a full-fledged healthy eater, but even I can’t resist the holidays. For those of you watching your waistlines, this post will not help you. My philosophy on holiday eating is if you manage to make it to January without putting anything on, congrats! That’s enough of a challenge.

Anyway, here are some things I’ve been sampling lately. Notice that they’re all really simple and fast. I’m not into the serious holiday baking. I’ll get there. Don’t worry.

Pumpkin Crisp

1 yellow cake mix

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

2 sticks of butter

1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Mix pumpkin and milk. Add sugar and spices. Pour into 9x13 pan. Top with dry yellow cake mix. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

*You could totally make this recipe sugar free. Pillsbury has recently come out with sugar free mixes. The brownies are great. The cake is alright (for this recipe it would be completely fine). The sugar cookie mix is terrible.

Creamy Lemon Pie

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup lemon juice (more if you like it more tart)

1 container cool whip

1 graham cracker crust

Mix sweetened condensed milk with lemon juice. Fold in cool whip. Pour into pie shell. Top with either more cool whip, or make your own fresh whipped cream (delicious!). I’m trying it tomorrow with a meringue topping. I’ll let you know how that goes. Dad will be my tester – he doesn’t know that, but I’m confident he won’t object.

Chocolate Spice Cake

I actually made this for my birthday. It’s ridiculously easy and super delicious.

1 spice cake mix (and whatever ingredients it calls for)

1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Make cake mix as directed. Mix in cocoa powder. Bake as directed on box.

Whip cream a few minutes until it starts to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla. Whip until slightly stiff. Stir in cinnamon.

Serve the cake warm with the whipped cream. It’s divine, and people will think you’re a genius. Really I’m the genius here, but you don’t have to tell anyone.

Green Chili Cheddar Cornbread

1 Jiffy cornbread mix

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 can diced green chili

3/4 cup shredded cheese

Combine all and bake as directed. So incredibly yummy!

Black Bean Soup

1 can black refried beans

1/4 cup salsa

1/2 tsp cumin

dash of hot sauce (if you want it spicier than the salsa)

1 cup chicken stock

Garnishes

3 strips bacon

Sour cream

Shredded cheese (or queso fresco if you want to be fancy)

Green onion

In a medium saucepan, combine the beans, salsa, cumin, and chicken stock. Simmer and stir until beans and stock are combined and the mixture is hot. Pour into a blender or food processor and puree. Pour back into the saucepan. Taste and adjust seasoning (add hot sauce if desired). Garnish with bacon bits, sour cream, cheese, and onion.

This one is really great with the cornbread listed above. I seriously lived off this soup last winter when I was dieting. It’s really low-cal if you leave out the sour cream and cheese. It’s also delicious and a great source of protein.