My Favorite Recipes: Meet Susan Santos Ball

Susan Santos Ball moved to Colfax when she was five-years-old. Her journey on the Palouse began when Susan's mother, Carole, married Jack Ensley, who was from Colfax. Susan started school at Jennings Elementary in first grade and graduated from Colfax High School with the class of 1990.

In 2008, Susan graduated from Washington State University with a BA in business technology. She now works full-time for the county while holding down the fort with three sons as a single mom. Dylan is 22 and a senior at Eastern Washington University. He plans to transfer to WSU next year and earn his masters in sports management.

Bryden is 14, in the eighth grade, loves to play basketball as much as possible and is working hard focusing on his school work.

Christian is the little guy in the group, who is getting ready to celebrate his sixth birthday. He goes full speed and takes every sport head-on. He participated in soccer and then fall ball and can't wait for wrestling and T-ball to start. The boys have also been active in their youth group and enjoy going to AWANA.

Life is very busy for Susan and, in her spare time, she enjoys watching her children participate in extracurricular activities.

She also works hard sharing her passion for home decorating with her home based business, Signature Home Styles. The part-time work helps provide extra income as well as giving her an outlet for her creativity while creating beautiful spaces. The company also offers great tools for home organization. She loves the products and sharing them with her friends and community. For more information, go to http://www.signaturehomestyles.biz/bySusan or find her on Facebook.

Susan loves the holiday season and is looking forward to spending it with her family. She is grateful for a close family, especially in trying times like this past year. This year has been especially difficult, as they have mourned the loss of Susan's step-dad, Jack. They will be feeling that loss this year, but will try to continue to focus on creating more good memories and continuing the family traditions. One tradition that Susan has always looked forward to is waking up to freshly-made "Doughboys" that her mother makes each year. They are a treat found on the east coast and are a sugar-dusted, deep fried dough that is called the treat of choice in Rhode Island. Susan's mother and father are from back east and she loves that they were able to bring this tradition to the Palouse.

Recipes

Doughboys

Use any basic bread dough recipe or you can keep it simple and buy it pre-made in the store.

Betty Crocker Bread dough:

4 cups of all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup milk, heated

1 Tbsp. instant yeast

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup butter-flavored Crisco

1 egg

Mix ingredients together in Kitchen Aid or knead until soft and doughy. Let it rise and then cook it at 350 to 375 degrees F. Once it's out you can coat it with anything you want - we like powdered sugar. Very unhealthy and fattening, but oh-so-good. We haven't gone a Christmas I can remember without them.

Pretzel Salad

Crust

6 cups pretzels, crushed

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter

4 Tbsp. sugar

Filling

1-1/2 packages (from two 8 oz. blocks) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 (8 oz.) container whipped topping, thawed

Jello

2 cups pineapple juice

2 cups (16 oz.) frozen strawberries, thawed and sliced

2 small (3 oz.) boxes strawberry Jello – can substitute sugar-free

2 Tbsp. sugar

Crust

Lightly spray 13x9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush pretzels in a food processor or use a resealable bag and rolling pin to crush. Pour pretzels into a large bowl. Sprinkle them with sugar. Melt butter and mix with pretzels and sugar until well combined. Spread mixture into baking pan and press in firmly. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F or until lightly golden. Cool completely.

Filling

Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in whipped topping until smooth. Spread over crust. Refrigerate at least one hour or until set.

Jello

Slice strawberries, add to bowl and sprinkle with sugar.

Add pineapple juice to small saucepan on stove and heat to boiling over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Add Jello to large bowl. Add pineapple juice and stir until dissolved, about two to three minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Stir in strawberries. Carefully pour or spoon over filling, spreading out strawberries if necessary. Refrigerate at least three hours or until set. Slice and serve, store leftovers in fridge.