Dinner · Easter

Do Ahead Easter Menu

The result will be something delicious and beautiful, and you won't be exhausted!

It’s Easter week!!!!  This is my favorite holiday!  Without the resurrection, there’s no hope, no eternity in heaven, no joy for today!  But because Christ lives, we have it all!  He lives within m heart, and as a believer, I should celebrate every single day!  I will definitely celebrate on Easter!  We’ll celebrate at church this Sunday as we worship with the Galkin Evangelistic team.  We’re excited about the day/week with them at BCBC!

Let’s talk about the Easter dinner today!  Some of my favorite foods to fix for Easter are already posted here on my blog, so I thought I’d do an Easter Round-Up and share some of my favorite recipes that would make a wonderful Easter dinner, in case you need some suggestions for your menu this coming Sunday!  These aren’t just good recipes, most of them are things that can be made in advance, which will lighten your load on the weekend!

Let’s talk dessert first!  This Coconut Cake has been an Easter tradition for many years at my house.  On the link you’ll find the recipe and my instructions of how to put the cake together easily.  This cake is THE BEST!  It’s worth the effort, and if you do the steps one at a time, a few days in advance, it won’t even be that much effort!

The result will be something delicious and beautiful, and you won't be exhausted!

This frozen fruit salad is so delicious and is made ahead of time, which is always a winning recipe in my book!

 

Frozen Fruit Salad

1 can jellied cranberry or cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple, drained

2 bananas chopped in small pieces
1 c. chopped pecans
1 8-oz. container Cool Whip

Place jellied cranberries or cranberry sauce in mixing bowl and using a whisk, break it up well. Add pineapple, banana, and pecans and combine. Fold in Cool Whip.

You can put this in a 9 x 13 dish or make individual servings by placing cupcake papers in cupcake pan and filling with mixture. Freeze. When ready to serve, peel paper of and serve on a piece of leaf lettuce.

Fresh Broccoli Salad is often covered with a heavy dressing, but this one is a lighter version, but every bit as good!  We love it.  It would go well with a ham dinner.  You can mix this together the night before.

  • Fresh Broccoli Salad
  • 4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)
  • 1/4 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
  • 1/4 cup (1-inch-thick) slices red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 center-cut bacon slice, cooked and crumbled (drained)
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

    Preparation
    Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine vinegar, sugar, and oil in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine. Pour vinegar mixture over broccoli mixture; toss gently to coat.

Do-Ahead potatoes are a great time saver on Sunday.  This recipe has been a favorite of ours for about 30 years!

Gourmet Potatoes
6 medium potatoes
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C butter
1 1/2 C sour cream (I used light)
1/3 C chopped onion
1 t. salt
paprika

Peel the potatoes. Leave them whole. Cook in boiling water ’til tender. Cool.
Shred potatoes coarsely. In medium-sized saucepan, melt butter and cheese. Stir ’til melted. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream, onions and salt. Fold in potatoes and pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish.
Sprinkle with paprika on top. Refrigerate overnight. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Lastly, if you need a great do-ahead roll, these are my very favorite.  You make them up to the point of just par-baking them, then pop them in the freezer.  They only require about 10 minutes of baking from their frozen state when you need them!  I make up half of this recipe and keep these rolls on hand for last minute dinners after the holiday meal is over!

rolls

This is Lee Drummond’s recipe.  You can find it on this post.

Working on your menu a little at a time this week will cause less stress on Sunday.  It’s all about the Lord Jesus Sunday – so make wise choices this week so you can focus on Him rather than having to fuss with the meal!

Do any of these strike your fancy?  What will you be fixing for Easter dinner?

Lovingly,

 

 

baking

Sugary Fall Treats

We tend to think of decorated sugar cookies only at Christmastime, but autumn is a great season to make up pumpkins and leaves for some yummy fall treats!  We love these cookies because they’re soft and just sweet enough.

 I love to decorate them and then put them on display for my family to enjoy!

This is my standard recipe:

Sugar Cookies
2/3 Cup shortening
3/4 Cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
4 tsp. milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add egg and milk; beat till light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Wrap in waxed paper or saran wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.

On lightly floured surface, work with half of the dough at a time*. Roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cutters. Bake on ungreased cookies sheet at 350 degrees about 7 minutes. Cool slightly; remove. Makes about 3 dozen.
*Chill other half till ready to use.

For the glaze, I use about 1 cup powdered sugar and a few teaspoons of milk, adding slowly and mixing so as to have a thick glaze. After icing cookies, sprinkle with decorations. Let set so the icing will harden.

 What fall treats do you enjoy?
dessert

Cooking Up Fresh Cherry Dessert in the Country

Last Friday I shared about buying fresh cherries recently.  I wanted to bake them up into something yummy and I came across this recipe on the Internet…

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It turned out to be a not-too-sweet dessert, but a really delicious one.  It took me longer to pit the cherries than it did to assemble the crumble.  It made six small servings; perfect after dinner with a scoop of ice cream on it!

I found Rainier cherries that look like this…

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They have a yellow/red skin and are mild flavored.  They were developed in Washington state and are named after Mount Rainier.  They are considered to be a premium cherry. This yellowish colored fruit doesn’t stain your fingers when you’re working with them!  I loved them.  They’re pretty, and tasty and perfect for this dessert of Cherry Crumble!  Here’s how it was made:

Fresh Cherry Crumble/Crisp Recipe

makes 6 small servings
For cherry mixture

2 cups pitted, fresh cherries
2 tbsp sugar (this will produce a mildly sweet crumble. add more sugar if you like)
4 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch

Cherry Crumble
Click on picture to enlarge

For streusel or crumb topping
3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp white sugar
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted plus more to butter baking dish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place the pitted cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes or untill the cherries are lightly softened. Mix together the corn starch and water and add it to the cherries. Cook for about 1 minute or till the mixture thickens.

To make the streusel or crumb topping, combine the flour, brown and white sugars, cinnamon and salt together. Mix well. Then pour in the melted butter. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it forms a crumbly mixture.

Lightly butter a baking dish (I used 6 individual sized creme brulee dishes). Divide the cherry mixture among the dishes. Place the crumb topping on top and bake for 15 minutes or till the topping has lightly browned.

Who could resist this:

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Have you ever used Rainier Cherries?  What did you make?  This dessert is fancy enough for a special occasion, but simple enough for a weeknight.  Good stuff!

With love from my country kitchen,