Be a Legacy Leader

The Costco Connection, January/February 2012, Volume 25, Number 1

People lament the lack of good leaders, but thousands of folks running small businesses are trying to be just that. Costco member Geneace Williams, known as Dr. G, is the founder of Higher Learning Enterprises Ltd (www.hleltd.com), a leadership development and consulting firm. She encourages people to strive for "legacy" leadership.

"Legacy leadership is possible when you operate outside of comfort ... Those who push themselves toward dreams that are bigger create the possibility for reaching what is extraordinary and what will impact others even after the leader is no longer physically present," she explains.

Williams proffers five essential elements for reaching that goal.

Intentionality. Approach leadership intending to achieve something great. When intention meets purpose it sets the stage for transformation, and authentic leadership.

Authenticity. Be true to the person you say you are. Practice "what you see is what you get" type leadership. Don't profess one lifestyle while living another. Immerse yourself in self-awareness and self-development. Admit wrong and embrace change.

Transparency. Operate from a place that allows your innermost self to be seen. Transparency is about self-disclosure or self-expression that allows others to see your true person.

Influence. Influential leaders realize they both influence and are influenced by others. Know and understand your power to influence or be influenced in an ethical manner.

Impact. Strive to make a difference in the lives of others. Be driven by the possibility of leaving behind for future leaders valuable lessons that will cause them to also become leaders with impact.

The Future of Customer Service

The Costco Connection, January/February 2012, Volume 25, Number 1

Jeff Mowatt is an award-winning speaker and the author of Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month. For more business-building ideas visit jeffmowatt.com.

You have no doubt noticed that technology is changing the face of customer service. Traditional ways businesses used to interact with customers, win their trust and keep them coming back are becoming irrelevant. Here are three of the most significant trends in customer service, and how you can position your business to capitalize rather than capsize in response.

Self-serve slavery
What apparently started with self-serve gas stations has now become the norm. Customers are now booking their own travel, doing their own banking and even scanning their own groceries at self-serve checkouts.

Your move? Shift from order taker to trusted adviser. Companies now need employees to assist with more complex purchases. The role of staff here is not to provide customers with lots of information. Information is free on the internet -- and free is perceived as worthless. When it comes to complex purchases, the role of staff is to analyze the options that are available. Then staff members interpret which options might be the most suited to that customer's needs and advise the customer on up to three options that will solve his or her unique problem.

Driven to distraction
It used to be that good customer service would generate positive word-of-mouth advertising. I believe that's no longer the case. Today's customers are too busy at work, in traffic, working out and chauffeuring kids to pay attention to service. What that means is that good customer service is no longer talked about -- it isn't even noticed. Good customer service has become wallpaper.

Your move? Become "remark-ably" different. Rather than trying to beat your competition, try to change your service so that you become "remark-able". In most cases, this means equipping employees with a few customer communication tips and strategies that get noticed. For example, when a customer asks an employee to do something, the average response might be "Sure" or "OK". Suggest that instead employees respond with "I'll take care of it." That response indicates that not only will the employee get it done, but they'll do it with care.

The amplification of anger
Now, through social media and sites dedicated to customer reviews, disgruntled customers have a public platform to amplify their outrage. Keep in mind that a comment that's spoken may be forgotten, but a remark written in cyberspace may last forever.

Your move? Become a recovery master. On top of an exchange or refund, give customers something for their inconvenience. Any gesture or token of appreciation that addresses a customer's hassle factor can transform an upset customer into a tweeting trumpeter of your virtues. That's the kind of viral marketing we'd all love.

Air Buns

I found this recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook dot com. The picture looks wonderful! This makes a fairly big batch.

• 4 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp. quick rise yeast
• 1 cup oil
• 1 tbsp.vinegar
• 2 tsp.salt
• 1/2 cup sugar ( I use 1/4 cup)
• 10 cups flour/ a little more if needed

1. start with about 6 cups flour, add the yeast salt and sugar and stir together.
2. add the warm water, oil and vinegar.
3. stir together with a wooden spoon adding more flour till it is hard to stir.
4. add remaining flour a bit at a time till you have a soft, smooth and elastic dough that is no longer very sticky when kneading.
5. knead for a few minutes by hand on a floured surface.
6. let rest in greased and covered bowl in a warm place for about 40 minutes. I use my oven with the light on.
7. Make into buns and let rise for another 40 minutes.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Watch your oven, temperatures vary.
9. Share and enjoy!!!!!

Notes:

I read the notes for the recipe on the MGCC blog and it says the vinegar is used to preserve the buns so they last longer, not to change the taste or texture. Interesting!

Mackintosh Toffee Marshmallows

Once again, a gem from the white recipe book. This one is from Martha Brandt. Her note: It is helpful for two people to do this; one to dip the marshmallows and the other to roll them.

1 large bag marshmallows
5 boxes Mackintosh toffee (I have used more than this, Martha noted)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes (or more)
1/2 cup toasted coconut (or more)

Melt butter, condensed milk, and toffee together. Dip marshmallows in mixture (using a fork) and coat evenly. Next, roll marshmallow in the cornflake crumbs and then in the coconut.

Notes:
The first time I made this, I wrote in my recipe book:
2 x 250g marshmallows
2 x 170g Mac. toffee pieces
Rice Krispies, no coconut
used skewer instead of fork
makes approx 7 doz.

Today:
Used skewer to hold marshmallows, but I first stuck the skewer into butter so the marshmallow doesn't stick. Probably put butter on it every two or three marshmallows.

used 3 x 170g toffee pieces, and 1/3 cup butter

When the toffee mixture got low, I poured it into a mug, warmed it up and was able to dip the marshmallows more easily.

Made another batch and added one ounce (one square) of semi-sweet baking chocolate and a small handful of dark chocolate chips that I had leftover from my Brownie Fudge Puddles recipe. It's good with the toffee and chocolate!

Butter Tart Squares

I think Mennonite Girls Can Cook is my new favorite recipe site. The name alone is enough to make it awesome! I didn't realize Butter Tarts were a Canadian thing! For this recipe, they've made a note: If you can't finish off the whole pan at once...they freeze well and even taste great partially frozen!

Base:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Topping:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Base:

Combine flour and sugar. With pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Press into cookie sheet (10" x 15"). Bake at 350° F for 15 minutes.

Topping:

1. Mix together butter and sugar.
2. Blend in eggs.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla.
4. Stir in raisins and pecans.
5. Pour over base.
6. Bake at 350° F for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
7. Allow to cool...then cut into squares.

Notes:

It's still in the oven, but I'll let you know how it turns out!

Päpanät

Mennonitegirlscancook.ca has loads of great recipes, Mennonite and not-Mennonite foods. Here's a recipe they posted recently. If you're not familiar with it, it's a small, hard bite-sized cookie that's packed with Christmas spices. There are pictures on the site. Here's what they wrote:

I think when it comes to Mennonite food there are as many recipes for each dish as there are Grandmothers. My recipe for Pfeffernuesse is quite different than the ones posted previously. These tiny cookies are quite hard and are meant to be sucked or dunked. I was told that in years past, the grandmothers would bring them to church for the children to suck on - ensuring they would keep quiet during the sermon.

I like to bake them around this time of year so that the flavours have a chance to mellow before serving them in December. However, once my family knows I've made them, they disappear by the handfuls. The original recipe is a very large one - I think it usually makes about 3 ice cream buckets full. I've halved the recipe to make it easier for smaller families.

It's a good time to invite someone to help - there are a lot of very small cookies to put on the pans.

Speaking from experience, it's good to read the whole recipe through once before starting.

• 2 cups golden cane syrup (in Canada it is made by Rogers) this has a unique flavour somewhat different than regular corn syrup.
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup milk

1. Place above ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cool to room temperature.

• 1 beaten egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (yes that's right)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground star anise
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 7-8 cups flour

1. Add egg and extracts to sugar syrup mixture, mixing well.
2. Into a large mixing bowl, sift together 4 cups of the flour with the spices and baking powder.
3. Pour liquid mixture over and mix thoroughly.
4. Continue adding flour - dough will be sticky and still somewhat soft.
5. Cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 5 days.
6. Spoon out about 1 - 2 cups dough, leaving remainder in fridge.
7. On a floured board or pastry sheet, roll into long logs about the thickness of your index finger.
8. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and place on parchment paper covered cookie sheets. (this makes it much easier to remove the cookies after baking.)

• Bake at 350º for 15 minutes or until set. (if you have a convection oven, the baking goes much faster as you can bake 3 cookie sheets at a time)
• Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
• When cookies are baked, remove from cookie sheets and allow to cool completely before storing in ice cream pails.
• These store best in a cool place like a garage. They do not need to be in the freezer. They will keep for months.
• If you bake them early in November, the flavours have a chance to mellow.
• Warning - these can become addictive.

Notes:
The first half of the dough, we made the pieces too large. The second half I made them much smaller. I'd say... maybe the size of a nickel.

Also with the first half of the dough, the pieces ended up being square. I grew up with round ones, so square just wasn't going to cut it for me. So, for the second half, I rounded the corners, each piece individually, with well-floured fingers.

I was surprised to find they were still soft when I took them out of the oven, but they harden as they cool.

Worth noting as well, once you've mixed the dough, before you put the ingredients or coffee grinder (which you'll need to grind the anise) away, fill your coffee grinder with cloves and the syrup. Just for fun. Well, not so much fun for me, but it was for Ella.

Update, December 11, 2017:
After having added 8 cups of flour, I thought the dough was still too sticky; almost like a thick cake batter. I squeezed in nearly another full cup of flour, but as I'm working with the dough, I think I shouldn't have added that last cup.

The first day after baking the cookies, they tasted bland, but by the second day, the flavour really showed up.

Brownie Fudge Puddles

Another treasure from the white recipe book! This one was submitted by Daphne Thiessen.

Brownies:
4 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 cup butter
3/4 tsp black pepper

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup Kahlua (strong coffee or other liqueur would work equally well)

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Fudge:
2 cups dark chocolate chips (or combination of milk and dark)
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

For Brownies:
Grease and flour mini-muffin pans thoroughly. Set aside. Melt butter, chocolate and pepper over low heat or in microwave. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until blended. Stir in cooled chocolate mixture. Then stir in Kahlua. Sift dry ingredients into chocolate and stir until blended. Fill muffin tins about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake in 350 degree oven just until set, about 8 - 12 minutes (depending on the size of your muffin tins). Do not overbake. Immediately upon removing brownie cups from oven, make a deep dent in each brownie with the back of a melon baller. Remove from pan and cool.

For Fudge:
Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk over low heat or in microwave, stirring often, until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cool slightly and pour into cake decorating bag with any kind of small -- medium tip (or Ziploc bag with a small corner cut off). Pipe filling into each brownie cup. Let fudge set before packing away.

Makes about 72 mini brownies.

Notes:
The first time I made these, I used a Ziploc bag for the fudge, but cut too small a hole. The bag exploded. Oops.

I used muffin papers instead of greasing the pans. The papers remove easily because the brownies are very buttery. But, it also does soak the papers and they aren't as cute soaked in grease as they are when they were in the package. Oh well. Chocolate trumps the need for cute papers.

Interestingly enough, I made exactly 72 brownies. But, I overfilled them just a bit, so I didn't have enough fudge. However, I melted a small amount of dark chocolate chips, mixed them with some crunchy peanut butter and filled the remaining brownies with that. It's gonna be goooooood! I'd suggest only adding enough fudge so it's level with the top of the brownie, not till there's a little chocolate mountain on top.

The True Value of Customer Service

Another great article from the November/December 2011 issue of Costco Connection magazine.

Most business owners feel it's mission accomplished when they make a sale or close a deal. Not so for Costco member Christ Zane, owner of Zane's Cycles in Branford, Connecticut.

"At Zane's, we've failed if all we've done is complete a transaction with a customer," he writes in Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers (BenBella Books, 2011; www.chriszane.com). That's because success lies not in a single sale, but in establishing a connection with a customer that can last a lifetime.

It sounds odd to pooh-pooh a sale, but here's why: Zane, who has run his bike shop since 1980, has figured out that an average customer will spend $12,500 on bike products and services over his or her lifetime. Thus, Zane's philosophy is to go far beyond expectations to create customers for life.

Some of his offers are pretty extreme:

• A lifetime service guarantee for every bike, covering parts, labour, and even tune-ups
• Flat-tire insurance -- for a one-time fee, Zane's fixes flats forever.
• A trade-in program for kids' bikes, lasting 10 years (or more)

These measures, Zane concedes, don't come free. But in terms of their long-term payoff, they add up to smart business expenses.

Is it working? Zane's Cycles is experiencing annual sales growth of 23 per cent, with sales of $15 million from retail and corporate customers.

For any business, Zane says, strong connections with customers are at the heart of long-term success. Of course, the specific ways of making those connections change from business to business.

He says, "No matter what kind of business you run, you should be in the relationship-building business, because that is how you will find the greatest success."

Making Passion Your Business

I love the business articles in the Costco Connections magazine! This one is from the November/December 2011 issue. You can find more articles at costco.ca.

The New Retirement
Eric Gilboord

We now have a generation of entrepreneurs who, if they had been told a few years ago they would still be working in their 50s, 60s, or even 70s, would have responded with ridicule and their visions of a glorious, stress-free retirement. For baby boomers with businesses, thinking about selling when they were ready to retire was too far in the future to worry about.

The past few years have been a rude awakening for many of them. Somehow life hasn't worked out the way they thought it would. The cost of living keeps rising, retirement funds have been decimated, children have gone their own way and businesses are not easy to sell for what the owners know they are really worth.

It's a new world, and significant change is required to survive. The last thing you want to do is sell the business you have nurtured for decades and get a fraction of its real worth. Good luck in proving its value, though, without sufficient sales.

To boos sales and growth, you may be thinking about the direction of your business and considering a change. Part of that change could involve getting back to your passion.

Here are seven questions to help:

1. What are you passionate about?
2. When you wake up what do you wish you could be doing?
3. How do you want to spend your time?
4. What really turns you on?
5. What is fun for you and not work?
6. What activities do you like to do?
7. What gives you a sense of fulfillment?

Fun is great, but don't forget to ask question 7. Everyone desires a sense of accomplishment and success. What makes you feel great deep down inside your soul?

If you have an established business, consider returning to your original passion. Get in touch with what drove you and get back to doing the things you can't wait to do every day. Who knows -- maybe you won't want to sell your business after all.

Play Dough

Johan's at church clubs with the older two. Ella needs something to do. We made play dough. This is the link I used, which includes really helpful photos to show just how long to cook it.

Basic ingredient ratios:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

food coloring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened drink mix)
scented oils

Aaaand she just told me she ate some of the dough, so I'll get off the computer now.

Updated, May 30, 2014, to add:

Used 1 tsp cinnamon into the pot for scent and colour, for a half recipe of dough.

The Power of Story

Your life is your story. And you haven't experienced those highs for your benefit alone, nor those lows to carry alone. The lessons we learn in life are meant to be passed on and shared. About 10 years ago I was questioning why I had been given a certain set of circumstances to deal with in my life. There hasn't been one answer but rather many.

I believe God allows us to go through stuff to help other people go through stuff. To me, that explains everything while sounding like it explains nothing. What I didn't know at the time is there's actually a verse in the Bible that says exactly that. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.")

We keep our challenges to ourselves because we feel it's too much of a burden to bother anyone else with it. We often feel like we can't talk about what's on our hearts, that we can't express how we feel, or even ask for help because we can't place it on another person's shoulders to carry. As if it's not hard enough to walk through tough times, but to feel alone in it? It's too much! First and foremost, keeping God as our first priority instead of a last resort, Psalm 68:19 reminds us, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." But there is a time to share with people we trust. Galatians 6:2 tells us to "Share each others' burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ."

I'm not saying we need to dump all of our stuff on every person who asks, "how are you?" I do believe that there are pieces of our story that we need to share as the Lord prompts; conversely, I also believe there are times God prompts us to remain silent. I think the difference is this; am I sharing my story to bring glory to myself or deciding I have the answer to another's situation in my big brain, or is my aim to give the glory to God. Matthew 6:1-16 (read it at the bottom of this blog entry) talks about doing things to be admired by others, but in doing so, we lose our reward in Heaven.

We also need to be careful about the stories we say about ourselves or to ourselves. Our "story" could be a single word or it could be our life history. Maybe there's a negative characteristic you continue to brand yourself with. (Brand: 1) a mark made by burning or otherwise, to indicate kind, grade, make, ownership, etc. 2) to mark with disgrace or infamy; stigmatize. 3) to impress indelibly.) It might be a word like "shy", a phrase like "I suck at math", or a label someone has put on us, possibly even what they intended as a joke but it pierced our heart and branded our spirit. We come to a time when we need to give up these labels and believe that God has made us to be more than that story and that He is developing a bigger picture within us. Every time we repeat our story, we reaffirm that we are, in fact, that word, that phrase, that history. To counteract that, we need to discover the truth of who Christ says we are (Deuteronomy 11:18a "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.") and take a serious look at our lives and make a point of seeing, and be grateful for, the characteristics and the new history He has given us or is developing in us and the good lessons we can find in tough circumstances. (Deuteronomy 30:14, 19b "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it. I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life." Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.")

Often our story comes from deep within ourselves, an issue close to our hearts, and it's probably a source of pain or even shame. As we share these private pieces that we hold on to so tightly, the Lord can start to bring healing. I've been blessed to observe a friend who recently shared her story of an abusive past, another friend with a story of miscarriage, (I could list example after example) and as they started to release their grip on their pain and private thoughts and feelings, the Lord moved in a huge way. The friend who experienced abuse was able to forgive. The friend with the miscarriage was blessed with a healthy baby. And both women are now able to speak their new history with great impact. I've found God takes the most difficult circumstances and makes something new and beautiful from it. (Genesis 50:20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.") When we're willing to share our stories, God can use it for His ultimate purpose, (Jeremiah 29:11-13 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'") which is to draw us closer to Himself and to point others toward Him.

As promised, Matthew 6, to emphasize why we need to be Spirit-led instead of self-led.
Matthew 6:1-16
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. ² When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. ³ But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. ⁴ Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. ⁶ But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

⁷ “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. ⁸ Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! ⁹ Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
¹⁰ May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today the food we need,
¹² and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
¹³ And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.

¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

¹⁶ “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. ¹⁷ But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. ¹⁸ Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Flax Buns

I had a hankering for buns with flax and I found this at www.flaxcouncil.ca and I'll echo what they state about this recipe: simple and delicious... nothing beats fresh buns! They have called these "Two-hour buns". *update* July 3, 2012: cut the recipe in half and made two large loaves with this recipe. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. *update again* July 21, 2012: see below for bread maker version.

Two-hour buns
Simple and delicious... nothing beats fresh buns!

25 ml	fast rising instant yeast	2 tbsp
2 L	all-purpose flour	8 cups
175 ml	ground flax seed	3/4 cup
125 ml	granulated sugar	½ cup
2	eggs	2
5 ml	salt	1 tsp
750 ml	lukewarm water	3 cups

• In a bowl, mix yeast, 1 L (4 cups) flour and ground flax.
• In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs and salt. Add water and stir.
• Add flour mixture to the liquid and beat until well blended.
• Add remaining flour and knead.
• Let rise 15 minutes.
• Punch down and let rise again 15 minutes.
• Punch down and form into buns.
• Let rise one hour.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Bake 20 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack.

Yield: 4 dozen 10 cm (4 inch) buns

Notes:
Breadmaker version:
3/4 cup water
1 egg
1/8 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground flax
3 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp yeast

Setting 5 (for 1.5 lb loaf)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Allrecipes.com. By the way, do take the time to check it out because I find their reviews immensely helpful!

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup chocolate chips (my addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Notes:
I love these tips someone posted for this recipe!

For those who get flat cookies, there are three likely problems:
a) your fat is too warm. Your shortening/marg/butter should be almost chilled--just barely warm enough to be creamed with the sugar. Anything warmer, and you're likely to spread. Also, don't cream them so long that the fat warms up;
b) warm baking sheets. If you put dough onto a cookie sheet still warm from the last batch, you're asking for it. It's best if both the dough and the pan are cool;
c) if neither of the above seems to be the problem, try adding another 1/4 cup of flour (or just make sure you were adding the proper amount in the first place).

For myself, I used cold butter, and only butter, no shortening or margarine, cut into tiny pieces to cream with the sugar.

I used 1/2 cup of each sugar, which I'm finding sweet enough.

As noted above, I added 1 cup of chocolate chips. It could even use more! Mmmm.

I made sure the pans didn't get warm before baking, kept the ingredients cold, didn't overmix, but had a few cookies spread a bit. As I was mixing it, I thought I could add more oatmeal, but didn't. Maybe that would have kept the cookies a little more compact and less spread-y.

I used crunchy peanut butter.

There is some discussion in the recipe review section about the saltiness of this recipe. Because I reduced the sugar by quite a bit, I find there is a bit of a salty taste. I might reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp.

Interesting Tips

Found this on allrecipes, which is packed with good info!!! For those who get flat cookies, there are three likely problems:
a) your fat is too warm. Your shortening/marg/butter should be almost chilled--just barely warm enough to be creamed with the sugar. Anything warmer, and you're likely to spread. Also, don't cream them so long that the fat warms up;
b) warm baking sheets. If you put dough onto a cookie sheet still warm from the last batch, you're asking for it. It's best if both the dough and the pan are cool;
c) if neither of the above seems to be the problem, try adding another 1/4 cup of flour (or just make sure you were adding the proper amount in the first place).

Roasted Pork Loin

Surprise, surprise. Another one from allrecipes! Here's what the contributor writes: "This roast is great holiday fare, with incredible seasoning. But it's too good to save just for special occasions. It makes a warm, satisfying supper anytime. I'll often serve it with potato pancakes, applesauce and carrots. -Grace Yaskovic, New Jersey"

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (4 pound) boneless pork loin roast

In a skillet, combine the first 12 ingredients; saute until the vegetables are tender. Untie roast and separate. Randomly cut 20 deep slits, 1 in. wide, on inside surface of roast. Fill slits with some of the vegetable mixture; retie roast. Place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Spread remaining vegetable mixture over the roast. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 2-3 hours or until a meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees F-170 degrees F. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes:
I love the idea of making the roast as written, however, I didn't have as much time to do it that way. I tossed in a bunch of celery (maybe a cup), 2 Tbsp of butter, and a medium onion chopped in with the meat and sprinkled the seasonings over it. I should have rubbed the seasonings on the meat before putting the celery and onion in, but it turned out just fine. I covered the baking dish with foil and baked it at 350 for an hour.

I took the seasoned drippings and made a cream gravy, adding a little extra paprika and thyme for flavor, and served with potatoes.

I suspect this would work very well in a slow cooker as well.

Herb Roasted Pork

Another winner from allrecipes.com! Delicious!

1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a bowl, combine sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Rub thoroughly all over pork. Place pork in an uncovered roasting pan on the middle oven rack.

Bake in the preheated oven approximately 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), depending upon your desired doneness.

Meanwhile, place sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, and serve.

Notes:
I didn't have sage, so I used an equal amount of savory.

As per the reviews on allrecipes, I used brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.

I used the full amount of the herb rub and the glaze with half the amount of meat.

Layered Taco Dip

Another treasure from the white recipe book (page 31). This is a contribution by Amy Kroeker. She notes: Originally a low-fat recipe, so feel free to substitute lower-fat versions of ingredients.

Bottom layer:
1 cup canned refried beans
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tbsp salsa
1 Tbsp lime juice

Second layer:
1/2 cup peeled and chopped avocado
1/2 cup frozen green peas, cooked
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp chopped red onions
2 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander (optional -- it's a love it/hate it taste I think)
1 clove garlic, minced

Third layer:
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp taco seasoning (at least -- add to taste)

Fourth layer:
1 cup salsa

Top layer:
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Bottom layer: combine all ingredients for bottom layer in a medium bowl. Spread evenly over the bottom of a 9" pie plate.

Second layer: combine all guacamole ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse on and off until mixture is well blended, but still slightly lumpy. Spread over bean mixture.

Third layer: combine sour cream and taco seasoning. Spoon over guacamole and spread evenly.

Fourth layer: pour salsa over sour cream. Spread to sides of pie plate.

Top layer: Sprinkle cheese over salsa and top with green onions.

Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Serve with taco chips.

Pizza Sauce

I was thinking regular pizza sauce probably has sugar in it, I thought I'd give this a go and people said it was good.

1 can (14oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14oz) tomato paste
a bunch of dried basil (must have been a few Tbsp)
salt and pepper

The paste gives a thicker texture than just using tomato sauce.

It would also be good with garlic mixed in, and/or real Parmesan cheese. Mmm. Makes me want to make a snack pizza....

Sweet and Sour Farmer Sausage

I believe this recipe is from the Valley Mennonite Academy recipe book, which is another really great collection! Many of the recipes in the book I have are submitted by my aunts.

This sauce is so yummy and simple that I use it every time a recipe calls for sweet and sour sauce.

1 farmer sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp flour

Brown farmer sausage. Mix remaining ingredients, except flour, and pour over farmer sausage in an oven-safe dish or slow cooker. Simmer about 1 hour (or longer if in slow cooker). Add flour to sauce (to thicken) just before serving.

Notes:
Delicious on pork chops or meatballs.

I used a double batch of the sweet and sour for one full farmer sausage.

This is long over due...

Faith. Family. Friends. Food. I chose the name of this blog very carefully, listing what is most important to me, in order of priority. I've always intended to share more than recipes. Food is, after all, fourth on the list. However, in recent years a number of people have come forward as outspoken critics of me and every word out of my mouth was ammunition for them to try to shoot me down.

(I love definitions of words! Dictionary.com defines critic as "a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes; a person who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; faultfinder." To further elaborate, captious means "apt to notice and make much of trivial faults or defects; faultfinding; difficult to please.")

As I was saying. The critics. I felt like my world was knocked off its axis with a baseball bat; like I was entirely wrong about everything I knew about who I was. I literally felt like I was going insane. And sadly, I did allow them to silence me for a period of time. I've been able to get my feet on solid ground once again and I can see that I wasn't, in fact, mistaken about the type of person I was.

This spring, someone I respect greatly told me that people will say what they'll say and people will think what they'll think. I can't stop them. Where does that leave me? It gives me freedom to do what I need to do and say what I need to say, regardless of what people will be saying about me. It also gives me freedom because I know who I am and when the critics speak, it tells me who they are, it does not tell me who I am.

I look at the name of my blog. Faith, Family, Friends, and Food. Very significant to me at the time I started this blog. Even more significant to me now. I've condensed what means most to me into four words. When I consider that someone earlier this week told me that I wasn't living my life with those as my priorities, I don't even need to be defensive or even question myself. I KNOW that I am doing my best to live my life with my priorities in that order.

My "Leanne's Not Willing To Make An Effort" Cold Rice Salad

I like to call recipes exactly what they are... so that's what's up with the name there.

Refer to "Brown Rice" recipe for instructions. When the rice is done, allow it to chill.

Then mix:
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
a generous Tbsp of Tupperware's Southwest Seasoning
2 tsp cilantro (I used frozen, so it'd be the same amount as fresh)

Add this to the Miracle Whip mixture:
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup of good quality frozen peas
1 cup of good quality frozen sweet corn
salt to taste

Allow flavors to blend for a few hours. Serve cold.

Notes:
I would have liked to add a few more things like black beans, lime juice, maybe avocado (but it probably would brown too easily). Even chopped tomatoes would be good.

I found this seasoning to be nice and spicy, with a little sweetness to it. I'd love to find a similar make-from-scratch recipe for this flavor of seasoning.

2nd day: good flavor, but could be a bit more flavorful for my preference. GREAT cold as a side to BBQ steak!

Brown Rice

I'm so sick of brown rice that has a wet, overcooked texture. We're having barbecued chicken for supper, so rice would be great, but that means I need to step up how I cook my rice. I think I found the answer. The recipe is from www.pinchmysalt.com, who adapted the recipe from www.saveur.com.

brown rice (whichever type you prefer)
water – use at least four cups of water for every one cup of rice
salt – to taste

Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds, swirling the rice around with your hand. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. When water boils, add the rice, stir it once. Turn heat to medium and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, pour the rice into a strainer over the sink. Let the rice drain for 10 seconds, then return it to the pot, off the heat. Immediately cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set it aside to allow the rice to steam for 10 minutes (if your pot lid isn’t extremely tight, place a piece of aluminum foil over pot then place the lid on top of foil for a tighter seal). After ten minutes, uncover rice, fluff with a fork, and season with salt to taste.

notes: *the original Saveur recipe instructs you to use 12 cups of water for one cup of rice. This seemed wasteful to me and after trying a few times, I decided that four cups of water for each cup of rice works perfectly fine. You can cook as much rice as you want, just try to stick to that general ratio.

Red Pepper and Basil Muffins

I've already said we're on a total muffin kick in our household. We've done the banana-chocolate-chip muffins a lot, then it was oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar, but I wanted to try a savory recipe today. I asked Chad what kind of muffins he'd like to try and he asked if there was such a thing as red pepper muffins. (Our kids can't get enough red peppers!) Well, that was an interesting concept and I found one at www.bettycrocker.com.

1	cup fat-free (skim) milk
1/3	cup olive or vegetable oil
2	egg whites or 1/4 cup fat-free cholesterol-free egg product
2	cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1	tablespoon sugar
3	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon pepper
1/3	cup chopped red bell pepper
4	medium green onions, chopped (1/4 cup)
2	tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Heat oven to 400ºF. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups.

Beat milk, oil and egg whites in large bowl with fork. Stir in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm.

Notes:
There are two notes on the website: Accompanying these muffins with tapenade—a Mediterranean olive spread—instead of butter makes these muffins even more of a treat!

Stirring muffin batter gently—just until dry ingredients are moistened—results in perfectly shaped muffins.

I wasn't about to separate an egg and wonder what to do with two yolks. I just used one whole egg.

I used 1% milk, not skim.

I peeled most of the skin off the red pepper. I find it gets kinda tough when cooked/baked.

It would be yummy with some ham finely chopped in it and/or with shredded cheese in it.

This would make a great sandwich-alternative for school!

Oatmeal Muffins

I'm on a total muffin kick right now. This one is from the white recipe book.

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 white sugar
3/4 brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup hot water

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix oatmeal and hot water; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix everything together and fill muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Notes:
This gave me a dozen average sized muffins and a dozen tiny muffins (the bite sized ones).

3/4 cup of two kinds of sugar??? Yikes! I cut it down to 1/2 cup of each and they're still more than sweet enough! I'd even cut it down a bit more.

I didn't want to use up the last of my butter, so I split the 3/4 cup of butter: half was melted butter, half was oil. Worked out well.

Chocolate chips could be added to this recipe too.

This recipe can be changed to Chocolate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal muffins with these basic changes:
1) reduce flour to 1 1/4 cups
2) add 1/4 cup cocoa
3) omit brown sugar
4) use 3/4 cup white sugar
5) add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
6) omit cinnamon

My oven bakes very hot so I baked it for closer to 20 minutes. Actually it was 18. So adjust your baking temperature and time according to what you know is best for yourself.

Dumplings

I made beef stew for supper and it looked like it might not quite be enough. It was too late to make potatoes or rice, and I've been thinking of making dumplings for a while. Here was my chance. I found this on allrecipes.com

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon margarine
1/2 cup milk

Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium size bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough.

Drop by spoonfuls into boiling stew. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without lifting lid. Serve.

To make parsley dumplings, add 1 tablespoon parsley flakes to the dry ingredients.

Notes:

The reviews on the recipe suggest stirring the dough only until the dry ingredients are incorporated, much like if you make biscuits or muffins. Don't overmix.

I put in the butter softened, not melted. It worked well.

I turned the stew down to minimum to allow it to simmer, dropped in the dumplings, covered the pot, and allowed it to simmer for the entire 15 minutes. The dumplings were cooked through completely.

Makes me want to play around with the recipe... like making cheese dumplings in taco soup. Mmm.

Cream Cheese Sheet Cake

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe yet! Well, no time like the present! This is absolutely perfect for summer! It's from the white recipe book, contributed by my friend Daphne Thiessen. It's officially a pineapple cake, but I like to play around with recipes. I'll write the original and then check out the notes section for changes. Daphne noted: This cake freezes well and is, in fact, great served frozen on a hot summer day.

Cake:
1 box vanilla cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs, separated
1 cup water

Topping:
1/2 cup butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 tin crushed pineapple, drained well

For cake:
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Combine all other ingredients, including egg yolks. Mix well. Fold in egg whites and spread in greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool completely.

For topping:
Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in icing sugar. Fold in whipped cream and pineapple. Spread on cake and keep chilled, or freeze, until serving.

Notes:
This is where I love to have fun. I generally don't do the pineapple. Mostly I've left out all fruit and put fresh raspberries on top.

The variation I did today was to add the zest of a lemon in the cake batter and replaced 1/2 cup of the water with 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Then I put the zest of a second lemon in the topping. It's not very lemony; I could handle a little more lemon, but it's still good! It'll be great frozen!

What I've wanted to try, but haven't yet, is to make this as a chocolate cake. How great would that be! I'd like to try a chocolate cake mix with chocolate pudding, and then possibly adding a little cocoa into the topping. Personally, I wouldn't prefer to include any type of fruit, but that's me.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake

This is an approximate recipe of what I made for the Women of Worth brunch back in April. It's my version of a recipe we made at a Pampered Chef party a few weeks earlier.

Hashbrown patties, thawed

1 cup of ham, cut into small cubes

1 cup of sour cream

12 eggs

2 cups of shredded cheese

1 cup of Cheese Whiz

salt and pepper

tomatoes

green onions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place a layer of hashbrown patties in a greased baking sheet or baking stone. Chop up the patties until crumbly. Sprinkle ham over the hashbrowns. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the eggs, sour cream, Cheez Whiz, and shredded cheese. (I have to admit, I haven't bought Cheeze Whiz in years, I think it's fake food, so you can substitute Velveeta or omit it all together.) Add a little salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the egg mixture over the baked hashbrowns, return to oven, and bake for another 15 minutes, or until eggs are cooked through.

Cut up the tomatoes and green onions.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the tomatoes and green onions.

Ruehrei (Scrambled Eggs)

This recipe is a classic from as far back as I can remember. It's from the Mennonite Treasury and can also be found in the white recipe book.

3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbsp cream
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients into a smooth dough, except eggs, which you beat well, and fold into first mixture. Put 2 Tbsp butter in frying pan and heat, put in egg mixture, brown on both sides, cutting and turning while browning. Some like the reuhrei in larger chunks, others finer, depends on how you are used to it. Serves 2.

Notes:
I don't think I've ever done the two-part mixing process as written above. Sheesh. Chuck it all into the Kitchen Aid and whisk the tar out of it!

If you are making more than one batch of this stuff, divide it between two frying pans, or like I tried today for the first time, I poured it into my baking stone pan and baked it for about 20 minutes. I did the cutting and turning as suggested in the recipe. It worked great!

Here's my favorite thing! I've revised this recipe a handful of times. I've fried a little bit of onion and meat before adding the eggs and continuing to fry it. Today I fried half a pound of bacon, scattered it over the eggs in the baking stone pan and then after it was done baking, I sprinkled the top with diced tomatoes and a little green onion. Makes for a full meal.

These eggs (the plain version) are a perfect side for watermelon. MMM!

Actually Delicious Turkey Burgers

I found this one on allrecipes.com. They're not kidding when they say "Actually Delicious"!

Ingredients
* 3 pounds ground turkey
* 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
* 1/4 cup finely diced onion
* 2 egg whites, lightly beaten (I just used one egg instead of 2 separated)
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 12 patties.

Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

While my husband was in Nicaragua, a friend blessed us with a delicious dinner of macaroni and cheese. It was yummy for Mommy and the kids loved it too! Since I don't have the recipe, I thought I'd try my own version.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup Velveeta
2 cups shredded old cheddar
1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan/Asiago
salt and pepper

ham

Directions:
Cook the macaroni in a large pot of water. Generally I like them cooked for 7 minutes, but since this recipe will be baked, I undercooked them and drained them at 6 minutes.

In the meantime, in a second large pot, melt the butter and cook onions until soft. Add the flour and milk. Mix until smooth and allow to simmer until thickened. Over low heat, add Velveeta and stir until combined. Throw in salt and pepper to taste.

Remove cheese mixture from heat, then add shredded old cheddar and Parm/Asiago. Stir until combined.

Add your desired amount of ham into the cheese mixture. Dump the macaroni into the cheese, stir until it's coated. Pour into a baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes (or until heated through) at 350 degrees.

Baked Burger Melt

This is where I live; taking on-hand ingredients and making a meal of it. When it comes together like this, I'm so humbled and grateful to God for giving me the ability and enjoyment from it.

This is all so approximate...

Burgers:
2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 of a large onion, chopped finely
1/4 water
1/2 cup bran

Fried Mushrooms:
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, thin strips
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Burger toppings:
tomato, sliced
green onion
cheese, shredded

Mashed potatoes:
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
s+p to taste

Smoosh all the burger ingredients together, form burger patties. I put it on a baking sheet that I had greased with bacon fat (oooooh, this is getting SO Mennonite!) I baked it for maybe 30 minutes.

In the meantime, I fried up the mushrooms (again in bacon fat) and at the end of the frying time, I tossed in the red pepper and a clove of garlic. At the end of the baking time, I put the mushroom/pepper combo on top of each burger, and then piled shredded cheese on top. I put it back in the oven till it got melty.

I made mashed potatoes, added a little sour cream, butter, warmed milk, and salt and pepper while mashing. I made a little schmaunt fatt (cream gravy) to top the potatoes.

And then, I sliced tomato and chopped green onion and put these on top of the burger melt right before serving. (So the tomato and green onion were cold.)

Epicure's Asian Dressing

This is from the Epicure website. I used one batch for the Epicure's Asian Noodle Salad and one batch for the two chicken breasts I fried for the salad.

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
* 1 Tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil
* 1 Tbsp (15 ml) lime juice
* 1 Tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce
* 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) sugar
* 1 Tbsp (15 ml) Epicure’s Asian Stir-fry Seasoning

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Shake well before serving.

Per Serving (1 Tbsp (15 ml)) : Calories 90, Fat 10 g (Saturated 1 g, Trans 0 g), Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 130 mg, Carbohydrate 1 g (Fibre 0 g, Sugars 0 g), Protein 0 g.

Epicure's Asian Noodle Salad

This is from the Epicure website. I'll add my notes throughout the recipe.

A great way to get your daily recommended vegetables.

Makes 6 servings [It's true. There were five of us for supper, plus there's enough for Johan and I to have leftovers tomorrow.]

Prep Time: 10 minutes [I think not. By the time you slice and chop all of the veggies, there's no way it's only 10 minutes. But you can chop the veggies during the day and when you toss it all together at supper time, sure, then it would totally be only 10 minutes.]

Ingredients

• 1 — 1 lb pkg (500 g) vermicelli noodles, cooked according to package directions
• 2 large carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 cups (500 ml) fresh bean sprouts
• 1 recipe prepared Epicure's Asian Salad Dressing
• 1 cup (250 ml) coarsely chopped peanuts

Instructions

1. Place first seven ingredients in bowl.
2. Add Epicure's Asian Salad Dressing and toss to combine.
3. Sprinkle peanuts overtop.

Per Serving : Calories 340, Fat 17 g (Saturated 2.5 g, Trans 0 g), Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 125 mg, Carbohydrate 39 g (Fibre 6 g, Sugars 8 g), Protein 12 g.

Tips: Serving Suggestion: Serve with grilled fish.

[I wouldn't serve this with fish. We're not big fish people. I cut two chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, topped it with another batch of the Asian dressing. Very yummy!]

The day after: I'm having leftovers for lunch and it's every bit as good cold as it was warm last night. One thing I could have done was serve the peanuts separately. They're not as crunchy the second day.