Amazing

I am in love with this fry sauce. It is a copy cat of the Creamy Amazing Sauce at Winger's. I want to drench everything in it. You could make potato wedges, like I did, but be careful not to overseason them. You don't want their flavor to detract from the sauce's flavor. It would be a tragedy. You could buy frozen french fries at the grocery store and dip them in the sauce. Or you could slather a hamburger in the sauce. Just find something to slather. Anything. You will love it. The sauce has a kick to it, but I'm a wimp, so I'm sure it won't bother any of you.

THE RECIPE:

1/2 packet ranch dip mix
1 c. sour cream
3 Tbsp. Frank's Red Hot sauce*
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water

Mix ranch powder and sour cream, then cover and refrigerate for an hour. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, mix hot sauce, sugar and water. Simmer over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool. Combine hot sauce mixture with sour cream mixture, and that's it! Keep refrigerated.

*You'll find this in the grocery aisle with barbecue sauces and chili sauces.

Waste not, want not

My kids refuse to eat bread crust. For a long time, I didn't give in. I figured if they would just get in the habit, it would no longer be an issue. I'm the one who learned the lesson. They simply won't eat bread crust.

So now, I cut off the crust beforehand and toss it into a container in the pantry so it doesn't go to waste. I also toss in the heals and any other unused or stale bread, whether it's white or wheat. It all goes in together. I leave the container open to the air -- its lid is ajar -- so the scraps will dry out (but still be safe from dust).

I add scraps every day until the container is full and the bread is completely dry. (You see, moisture is what will make it go moldy. Dry bread will last forever.) Then I toss everything into my food processor and make bread crumbs for use in recipes such as this. Once you have crumbs, you can store them in an airtight container. When I see the pile of crusts I otherwise may have thrown away, I cringe. It really adds up. It feels good to be resourceful!

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater

My new 5-year-old got "The Mother Goose Cookbook" for her birthday. It's a cute little book full of nursery rhymes and their coordinating recipes. Olivia wanted to get right to work. She chose Peter Pumpkin's Pumpkin Muffins, and she helped me the whole way. The muffins turned out very moist and yummy. My husband thought they had molasses in them, so the brown sugar must give them a little kick. But they still don't beat my favorite pumpkin muffins of all time. Sorry, Peter. What's up with your poem anyway? Who keeps his wife in a pumpkin shell?

THE RECIPE:

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. plus 6 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 c. pumpkin puree

1/2 c. melted and cooled butter

1/4 c. plain yogurt or sour cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 c. warm honey

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 c. dried currants (I left these out)

3/4 c. chopped walnuts (I left these out)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour muffin tins. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Add spices. In separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, butter, yogurt, eggs, honey and vanilla. Stir in currants and nuts. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring until batter is just blended. Fill muffin cups halfway with batter, then sprinkle remaining brown sugar on top. Bake about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean. Makes about 15 muffins.

Truffle meets cookie

These chocolate truffle cookies are evil. They have been sent from the underworld to destroy us. They have a dense and fudgy texture, like a truffle -- perfect for sinking your teeth into. They are rich and delicious. I meant to give them away, but I couldn't stop eating them. They were in control, not me. Evil, I tell you. I got the recipe from My Kitchen Cafe.

THE RECIPE:

1 1/4 c. butter, slightly softened*
2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
2 c. chocolate chips
About 1/3 c. cocoa powder for rolling
About 2/3 c. powdered sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large bowl, blend butter and powdered sugar. Add cocoa powder and salt, then sour cream and vanilla. Blend in flour, then stir in chocolate chips. If dough is too difficult to handle, refrigerate for 30 minutes or more. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in cocoa powder. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Do not flatten. Bake for 10 minutes.

Get them out even if they don't look done. Let cool for a few minutes before moving to wire rack. Cool completely -- I'm talking a good 45 to 60 minutes -- before rolling in powdered sugar. I know, it's hard to wait that long, but you must or the powdered sugar will melt.

*Your butter should give a little when you touch it, but it shouldn't be so soft that your finger pokes far into it. If your butter is too soft, you are going to have to refrigerate your dough before baking or your cookies will flatten.

Easter object lesson

I've seen these fun "empty tomb" rolls on multiple websites. Some people use homemade roll dough, others use frozen roll dough, and still others use refrigerated crescent dough. These rolls are the perfect way to teach the story of Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection to a child. Each roll starts out with a marshmallow inside, a symbol of the body of Jesus. When the rolls are cooked, the marshmallows melt, leaving a hollow roll -- an empty tomb. My almost-5-year-old was riveted on the lesson. She asked me to tell the story again and again as we assembled the rolls. Each ingredient is a symbol.

THE RECIPE:

1 8-count package refrigerated crescent roll dough
8 large marshmallows
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Separate roll dough into eight triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow in butter, then roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on triangle. Roll up marshmallow, being sure to seal edges well. Dip tops of dough balls in remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place sugar-side up in greased muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Symbolism ideas:
(Scripture references come from King James version of Bible)

Marshmallow -- body of Jesus
Butter and cinnamon-sugar -- spices and ointments (Luke 23:56; John 19:40)
Roll dough -- linens for wrapping and/or tomb (Luke 23:53)
Oven -- tomb (or you can just have the dough be the tomb)
Hollow roll -- empty tomb/linens (Luke 24: 6; Mark 16:6)

Change of mind

I've never thought potato salad was anything special. This was my first time even caring to make it. I'm glad I did, though, because I really liked this recipe. As I was eating it, I thought, "This is probably the best potato salad I've ever had." A moment later, my husband piped up with, "This is probably the best potato salad I've ever had."

I adapted the recipe slightly from one at My Kitchen Cafe, whose blogger says this is the best potato salad she has ever had, too. She says it tastes great with the dressing poured over still-warm potatoes.

THE RECIPE:

2 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, washed and cut up*
1/2 c. sliced black olives
5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 c. Miracle Whip
1/3 c. buttermilk**
3/4 tsp. dried parsley or thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. minced dried onion
3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. mustard (I used spicy brown for half)

Mix dressing ingredients thoroughly and refrigerate so flavors can mesh. Boil potatoes until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Mix potatoes with olives and eggs, then coat with dressing.

*Leave the skins on! They add health value and taste great.

**Or mix 1 teaspoon lemon juice with 1/3 cup milk and let stand for five minutes to make your own sour milk.

A toast to breakfast

Here's a fun and easy twist on the traditional: peanut butter waffle toast. Now let me explain. It's bread that has been dipped in batter -- similar to what you would do with French toast -- then cooked in a waffle iron. And it's yummy.

My sister-in-law Amy introduced it to us while we were visiting her family in Texas last month. And then my husband requested it for his birthday breakfast this week. The recipe calls for Bisquick, which makes it easy, but it would be fun to turn it into a made-from-scratch thing. I just couldn't bring myself to put forth the effort.

THE RECIPE:

1 1/4 c. milk
1 c. Bisquick mix
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
8 slices bread

Heat waffle iron. In medium bowl, stir top six ingredients until well blended. Dip bread into batter, coating both sides. Cook in waffle iron until toast is golden, about 2 minutes. Optional toppings: syrup, powdered sugar, maybe even a sprinkle of miniature chocolate chips.