The neighborhood we live in now is in stark contrast to the neighborhood we left in California.  Since we moved into townhomes owned by the seminary, you can guess that there are other young family residents, resulting in many other kids for Judah to play with.  Back in California, Judah had no friends his age in the neighborhood and the closest playground was a 15-minute drive.  The closest playground here?  About 20 feet from my kitchen window. 

Needless to say, Judah is having the time of his life.  And, he is being forced to share his toys.  Today, he clobbered a girl twice his size as she ran towards his Hot Wheels collection that he so proudly displayed on the sidewalk.  Then after the blow, he yelled “Mine!”  That’s when I clobbered him.  Not really.  But, that’s when I wanted to.  :\

Judah’s a good kid.  But, he is really having to figure out this sharing thing.  I mean, he just turned two, and he’s never had to share his own toys very often, so I should give him some slack.  But, I’m going to nip it while it’s hot.

You know who else needs to work on their sharing skills?  Chick-fil-a.  I need them to share their various sauce recipes.  Specifically, their Polynesian sauce (right, Steph?).    But, trying to find a “copycat” recipe for them is pretty much impossible.  So, I took a few packets from their restaurant the other day and will be playing around in my kitchen with the ingredients listed.

Even though Chick-fil-a does have a honey mustard sauce, this honey mustard recipe is actually reminiscent of their “Chick-fil-a Sauce,” (although definitely not exact).  There are many different ways to make honey mustard.  Some people use horseradish, others add more honey, then someone else might throw in some OJ.  I like to keep it as simple as possible, with ingredients I always have on hand.  This formula is just that and creamy, tangy and the perfect dip for our chicken nuggets.

One day I decided I wanted to try making honey mustard to go with our chicken nuggets.  When I was reviewing the recipe and saw that mayonnaise was on the ingredient list, I immediately cringed because I knew I didn’t have it on hand and I did not want to go to the store.  Instead of giving up my quest for homemade honey mustard, I decided to look up a recipe for homemade mayo and was pleased with how surprisingly simple it was (even being an Alton Brown recipe). 

This requires a little bit of elbow grease as you whisk the ingredients into the egg yolk.  Although I haven’t tried it yet, myself, you can probably use an immersion blender or stand mixer instead.  Just a few staple ingredients, whisked briskly together, let set at room temperature for an hour and you have about a cup of mayo.  Perfect for homemade honey mustard or homemade ranch dressing, with just enough left over that I know won’t go to waste.

(Homemade honey mustard recipe coming soon.)

Now that we’re semi-settled in, I am enthusiastically diving back into the DIY journey.  This week, I will supply you with the three condiments recipes I made before the move, starting with my favorite of the three, this ranch dressing.  When I made my first batch last September, I doubled the recipe and still used it all up before it went bad.  I made Chicken Ranch Pizza, used it as a dip for my Oven “Fried” Pickles, and pretty much slathered it onto every other food that entered my  mouth.  When ranch dressing is available, it’s quite possible I abuse it.  Meaning, it goes on everything.  Now that I can have it homemade, without preservatives, I feel much better about this habit.    And, having it homemade is a measly 5 minutes away.

If you were with me when I made these other cookies last month, you’ll remember that Ben persuaded me to title them with the word “Dangerous”.  Similarly, he suggested I preface these cookies with any of the words “Ridiculous”, “Sick” or “Nasty” (all terms that mean extremely delicious, if you’re not up with some west-coast slang.)    But, I had to draw the line and didn’t take his advice this time.  I’m sure you will agree with me why.  Anyhow, it goes to show how much we loved these cookies.  I meant to save half of them for my mother-in-law when she came to visit, but somehow they disappeared before we knew it!  I believe there was one left when she arrived.  Oops!  At least they are HUGE cookies, so one was probably plenty.

I made these using Trader Joes’ mini peanut butter cups, but you can certainly use whatever brand miniature peanut butter cups you like.  You can even use the regular sized cups, because you just chop them up.  Judah had a really fun time helping me “strategically” place the chopped PB cups on top of each dough ball.  I really wish I would’ve snatched a photo.  He was a big help!

Enjoy these chewy, chocolaty, peanut buttery, unhealthy pieces of joy!  But, in moderation y’all! 

*Full disclosure:  I like Paula Deen and in no way am I making light of her health condition.  In fact, I am saddened by it and at the same time grateful for the wake-up call.  My heart goes out to her and the battle she is having with living with this condition and living with the stress of the media’s involvement.

Today is a new day, though, and I’m sitting here re-editing those lost photos so I can quickly get them back up on my blog, drinking as much water as I can to rid this cold, while glancing outside every few seconds at the beautiful falling snow.  And, you know what else I’m doing?  Snacking on these pretzels.  I just can’t get enough of them.

Last weekend, I made these to include in a treat package I sent to Ben at our new home in Mississippi, along with some pumpkin bread and his favorite cookies.  Judah and I are still in Michigan with my family until Sunday (totally itching to get down there!)  So, Ben’s living the bachelor life and having to unpack .  And, to prove it, here is a screen shot of his two latest Facebook statuses:

Poor guy.    Unfortunately, I’m assuming the post office lost the package (grrrr!) because the tracking information website doesn’t have any updates on it since the day I sent it (Monday) even though it was guaranteed I paid for it to be delivered (2 to 3 days) by Thursday (yesterday).  Ben still hasn’t received it. 

But, I’m going to rise above it and at least share the recipe with you so that maybe you can enjoy it with me.  Make them for your neighbors, make them to snack on while reading, or have a batch setting out at your Super Bowl party.  Your guests will be addicted, so be sure to have the recipe ready to share!  I’m sure Mr. Postman is chomping on them right now, too.

Finally, when we were visiting her in Colorado this Christmas, she made me her famous bumpy cakes.  They are not chocolate at all (although I think a chocolate version could be made) and they definitely are breakfast-y.  Her description was that they are in between a crepe and a pancake, and develop bumps in the batter when baked.  Yet, I now would add to the description that they are egg-y, and delightful.  To me, they are better to serve than crepes or pancakes because you do not have to stand over the stove/griddle, cooking up a batch for everyone.  Instead, you mix the ingredients and layer into a 9- x 13-inch pan then bake it.  This means all portions are done at the same time and everyone can enjoy a fresh piece together!  Slather on a little butter, drizzle with syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  A breakfast of champions, if you ask me. 

Although things are busy, I still have many recipes to share with you.  I also have two party ideas (both baby showers) that I can’t wait to tell you about!  Today, though, you are getting a new favorite side dish of mine that is easy to throw together, then after a little while in the oven, it is easy to gobble up!  I came across this recipe a month or two ago when I picked up a bag of Melissa’s Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes at the grocery store.  We had plans to make our favorite burgers, and I needed a side that didn’t require much labor or many ingredients.  I was in the mood for potatoes, and after reading the recipe on the bag, I knew these fit the bill.

The first time I made these, I baked them in the same oven as the pretzel buns.  Since the lemony potatoes were sizzling on the rack directly underneath the rolls, the pretzel buns ended up with a lemony buttery crispy crust that was to die for.  Now, I try to make it a point to bake them together when possible.    I love when “accidents” happen.

Quiche Lorraine is the most well-known quiche recipe out there.  It’s basically a pie with a custard filled with bacon, egg and cheese.  The crust can be made of store-bought or homemade pie crust or puff pastry.  Pretty filling for a meal in itself, but I’m sure you’ll find yourself reaching for more than one piece.

Last year I shared your top ten favorite recipes from the year 2010 and thought I’d post a round up again for 2011.  Because of the packing and moving we’re in the middle of right now, I do not have time to write up a summary of each one, but please enjoy scrolling through the photos and clicking through to the recipe to see the full description.

Happy new year!  Looking forward to 2012!  Let me know what recipes you’d like to see appear here next year!

Queso Blanco (White Cheese Dip)

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts Holes

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Cookie Dough Eggrolls

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Chicken Nuggets

Five-Minute Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Death by Chocolate Trifle

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

It’s possible that these bacon wrapped weenies are suitable as a stress remedy, too.  Really, anything with bacon in it can lift me from any of my worries (except a future heart attack), and wrapping it around my favorite lil’ smokies then sweetening them up with sprinkles of brown sugar really pushes its mending abilities to the top.

These are simple to put together and would be a popular addition to your New Years’ Eve spread.  They do take a little bit of time because, of course, you need to wrap each sausage with a slice of bacon.  This recipe also includes additional steps of heating in a skillet and broiling a few minutes, to ensure a crispier outcome.  In my opinion, this little bit of sacrifice of time is way worth it for the fabulous results.