Easter

[Stitchn-Jeans]

Hi everyone,

I am wondering what everyone is doing for Easter. If you are making anything and also what are some of the foods that you make. I make a ricotta cheese cake it is with a crust. I found a new recipe without the crust , so I made it the other day and it is very good . Very light ..So I think I am going to make another one for Easter.


Stitchn-Jeans

[lizanne]

I love the sound of your cheesecake, would you care to share the recipe?

I'm down under in Australia so it is still very warm weather here. I was talking about Easter today with my husband and he suggested a BBQ. We are pretty tied up with our church and choir so a traditional lunch for our extended family would be awkward to organise. Also, my two daughters that live nearby both have babies, so I don't want to ask for help from them.

I'm thinking I could put a large piece of pork on the spit in the covered BBQ before we go to church, as it would take 3 - 4 hours to cook and add some salads or vegetables.

Dessert is my nemesis - I am a terrible dessert cook, so any ideas would be gratefully accepted.

I'd love to hear what everyone else has planned.

[debmac]

My mother has a little tradition for the "egg hunt". Her grandchildren are all pretty much grown (28, 26, 22 & 22) but they still hunt. Even their boyfriends and girlfriends hunt. All three of my girls are very comptetitive so it is serious business to them. She hides her plastic eggs and they all hunt for them like they were still 5. She puts candy in some and money in some. It is funny when they open them to see who has the prize egg. It could be $50 or it could be a toy from a bubble gum machine. They never know what they will get. My mother and the kids all look forward to it every year.

[StitchinGrandma]

Dessert is my nemesis - I am a terrible dessert cook, so any ideas would be gratefully accepted.

You need to come spend a few days at my house. I'll teach you all you want to know about making desserts. :D Desserts have always been my specialty. What type of dessert recipe are you looking for? It does get a bit hard however since you are in Australia where some ingredients are hard to find there but we can try.

Have you looked in the recipe section on the board here under the desserts thread? I think there are some good ones there if you haven't. I can post something there for you if you give me some idea what you might want to have when I find some time later today or tomorrow.

[StitchinGrandma]

We still aren't sure what we are doing in our home. I've got some restrictions to work around yet because two of the four boys we know will come also work overnight (3rd shift) the night before and then on Easter night too. Because of their hours we need to plan so they can get a little sleep after work and then give them plenty of time afterward to get sleep for their next shift later that night. And on top of that it now appears we might have another of our boys here but he still hasn't let me know for sure. ugh. Holidays are becoming a thorn in my side because no one can commit to anything early enough to give me time to plan what I want to do. I hate shopping for holiday meals only a few days before the holiday because the stores are so horrible. SO many people have forgotten what manners are and it's like you are taking your life in your hands anymore when going through a grocery store. I've been hit by more carts in the past year than I have in the past 20 yrs because people do not care about anyone now other than themselves. It's very sad to think that this is where our world is going and the examples being shown to the very young like my own granddaughter. What will it be like when she's an adult?

oops....did I vent a bit there? :D

[katiedoodles]

Vicki,

I completely agree with you about the rudeness of people at the grocery store! I plan my grocery shopping around the time that kids are just about to get off of school, I leave home just about 1:45 and (as long as I go midweek) that the store is nearly empty! I will not even consider going on Saturday or Sunday...the last time I did I got into an argument over someone hitting me in the heels so hard that I was bleeding and they were oblivious and never apologized:mad: It is truly a shame that people have gotten so wrapped up in themselves that they never think they are being rude to others.

[susank]

Vicki - I totally agree with you on grocery stores. People are rude, aggressive and self centered! I find Costco is the worst place. It's like a dog eat dog free for all. When possible I try to shop early in the week when it's less busy just to avoid all that!

As for Easter plans - I am having two of my sisters and their families for dinner and one of them is staying for the weekend because they are from out of town. My dinner plans - as of today because I have changed them several times - are to cook a ham on my husbands Big Green Egg smoker charcoal BBQ - I baste the ham with Marsala wine and it is unbelievable. I am planning on serving a pineapple horseradish mustard sauce with it. I know it sounds weird but it is really good. I am also making several vegetables and a potatoe creation of mine that is basically like scalloped potatoes but the potatoes are cooked with whipping cream, about a dozen cloves of chopped garlic and extra old cheddar cheese - not exactly a diet dish! One of my sisters is bringing a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. The appetizer will be a baked goat cheese with toasted almonds served with a tomatoe basil salsa.

I too have done the Easter egg hunt with my girls ever since they were young and they still love it at 15 and 18. They also still awake to a new stuffed bunny and a stuffed lamb sitting at the side of their beds with a basket full of white and dark chocolate bunnies and other goodies. One of them always gets the bunnies and the other always gets the lambs. They now have quite the collections!

This year I am a little unsure of what to do about the hunt. Their 10 year old cousin will be here and I don't think she is allowed to have any sweets. I don't really want to skip the hunt because my girls like it so much. I am still trying to come up with a solution. I like the idea of the plastic eggs with different things inside them.

[katiedoodles]

Dessert is my nemesis - I am a terrible dessert cook, so any ideas would be gratefully accepted.

.

Lizanne,

I seems that no matter where I go I am always being asked to bring dessert, so I have a few easy recipes (since I would rather cook an 8 course meal than dessert :p )


One is for "Better then Sex Cake" that is super easy (but very sweet). You bake a devil's food cake mix in a 13x9 inch pan, while that is baking you combine 1 can of sweetened condensed milk with 1 jar of caramel topping. As soon as the cake is done, immediately poke holes (I use the end of a wooden spoon all over the cake and pour the milk/caramel mixture on top. (You will think that there is no way that the liquid will ever absorb, but it does.) Once cooled, place cake in the refrigerator. Top cake with whipped topping (Cool-Whip) and crumbled Heath Bar. Serve with a spoon into bowls. (It is very sweet and rich, but anyone who likes chocolate will love this.) If they are in season, I also top each serving with raspberries.

[lizanne]

Katiedoodles that cake sounds fabulous but I'll need more information to make it in Australia.

When you say caramel topping do you mean like ice-cream topping or the thicker caramel like you could put in a tart case? and how many ounces in a jar? In Australia condensed milk comes in a 14oz can, is it the same where you are?

Cool Whip isn't available here so I could use whipped cream, but I'm not sure what type of candy bar a heath bar is, could you please describe it?

I too am amazed at the lack of common courtesy in the supermarkets (grocery store) here, and in general in society. In Australia, schools say that it's the family's responsibility to teach manners and I agree with them. But if the families aren't doing it I wish the schools would take it up. Compulsory classes in manners and good citizenship might be able to curb the trend but teachers say that they simply don't have the time. I don't know what the solution is.

I like to shop for groceries on Tuesday mornings, in my town the retailers all agree that is is the slowest time, even so there is always someone to make you wish you'd stayed home!!

[Granny313]

My mother has a little tradition for the "egg hunt". Her grandchildren are all pretty much grown (28, 26, 22 & 22) but they still hunt. Even their boyfriends and girlfriends hunt. All three of my girls are very comptetitive so it is serious business to them. She hides her plastic eggs and they all hunt for them like they were still 5. She puts candy in some and money in some. It is funny when they open them to see who has the prize egg. It could be $50 or it could be a toy from a bubble gum machine. They never know what they will get. My mother and the kids all look forward to it every year.

You know I am only a little ways down the road from you so......what time do we hunt? Sounds great (LOL):D

[katiedoodles]

Lizanne,

The caramel is the ice cream topping and yes, the condensed milk is 14 oz here too. Heath bar is a chocolate covered toffee bar (it's my favorite!)

katie

[StitchinGrandma]

This year I am a little unsure of what to do about the hunt. Their 10 year old cousin will be here and I don't think she is allowed to have any sweets. I don't really want to skip the hunt because my girls like it so much. I am still trying to come up with a solution. I like the idea of the plastic eggs with different things inside them.

Maybe you can do a different type hunt this year. Get some of those plastic eggs and put other things inside. You could put pieces of paper inside with just a number on each one since much more than a piece of candy won't fit inside those. Then have matching numbers on wrapped smallish type gifts they get 'win' when the matching numbered egg is found. In one of the eggs you could even make that the 'golden' egg with it having $5 inside.

Your potatoes sound yummy.

I THINK ~ and yes, my plans have changed now about four times ~ we are going to do a brunch type meal here so then whenever someone can arrive, they will get food and we don't have to sit and wait. As of right now our tentative menu is this:

Ham (of course)
Cheesy potato casserole (the one similar to that you get at Cracker Barrel Restaurants)
Fresh pineapple chunks
Yeast dinner rolls
Orange juice (I may even pull out a bottle of champagne for Mimosa's :) )
Bacon and/or sausage links/patties
Sweet Corn bake
Green beans or corn
Coconut cream pie
French Cream cheesecake
What's really great is that the only thing I really need to spend any time making is the potato casserole. My legs are the reason we were looking at going out because by the time I am done making a huge meal I'm practially in tears from the pain but, I got the Gordon Food Service sales flyer this weekend and all those things are on their specials this week along with a $5 off coupon if you spend over $50. It appears at a quick glance that this meal will run about $65 or so which is MUCH cheaper than taking anywhere from 4-7 people out to a local Easter Buffet at $20+ each (one of the places we contemplated going was going to be $27each). I'll still have things to prepare like frying the bacon/sausage and getting the ham ready but those are quick things and not anywhere as time consuming as turkey dinner usually is.

[katiedoodles]

Vicki,

I LOVE the hashbrown casserole from Cracker Barrell! Would you share the recipe that you have?

Katie

[StitchinGrandma]

Vicki,

I LOVE the hashbrown casserole from Cracker Barrell! Would you share the recipe that you have?

Katie

I just posted that in the Recipes area. I created a new thread where other Side Dish - potato recipes can be put so they are all together.
Click here

[katiedoodles]

Yummy, thanks!

[StitchinGrandma]

You're more than welcome. I thought everyone had that recipe by now. LOL I have used that for breakfast, for a side dish, and even for supper by adding some cubed ham to it. It's a great recipe and everyone in my house pigs out on that stuff so I actually double the recipe I just posted or we have NO leftovers at all.

[hardworkfhe]

Happy Easter to all.

I Know That My Redeemer Lives.

[grannyfranny]

I know I'm a little late with this but I was away in Texas last week and then when I returned did some last minute Easter embroidery....I'm such a last minute person...too busy to check the message board what with Church services and all. So happy Easter week everyone. I hope your Spring is as delightful ......or whatever season you are going into...as ours is in northeastern PA :)

Fran