You never know what treasure you’ll find at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

My family frequently savors their slow-cooked pot roast, corn muffins and fried apples. I’ve been known to slip into the shop for gifts … often. One such shopping day a few years ago, I beheld a plaque that would forever live in infamy in the Hayhurst family. The black, white and red wall hanging read: “Wicked chickens lay deviled eggs.”

Breaking out in loud laughter in Cracker Barrel isn’t the demurest thing to do, but you must understand the back story.

My sweet, tiny mother-in-law, Betty Jo, is the family’s queen for making deviled eggs for every family dinner. Her eggs grace Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads, and nearly every family dinner throughout the year. Wicked is not a word that I have ever heard her utter, nor has she probably ever thought of it. Leave it to her “outlaw” daughter-in-law to bring it to her attention.

Of course, I purchased the plaque, then laughed all the way to the car. Our family burst into loud laughter when she opened her present on Christmas day. Betty Jo proudly displays her gift above her typewriter at the family accounting office for all to see.

As if “wicked chickens” weren’t enough, earlier this year I visited Tractor Supply Co. and spied the perfect birthday gift. She could have her very own T-shirt with the same saying! Betty Jo was so thrilled, she wore it to her doctor’s office to tell him her deviled eggs story.

We don’t raise chickens, and my husband, Terry, says we never will. But we sure have a “wicked” good cook to make our deviled eggs!

Hayhurst writes from Terre Haute, Ind.