I just love it when Easter comes later in the year. The idea of sunshine, warmer temperatures, and spring flowers blooming feel so much more like Easter than cold weather with rain. Warm weather equals warm weather foods and that means salads. We are a ham family for Easter and I love to serve my favorite cold salads for the first time each year for Easter dinner. Our side dishes consist of potato salad, Amish macaroni salad, broccoli cauliflower salad, cucumber salad, super beans (not cold but delicious and easy), and Watergate salad or ambrosia, potato rolls or Hawaiian rolls, cookies, cupcakes and brownies. It's a more relaxed meal, we can eat outside while the kids play, and it really feels like the official start of the warm weather season. I always buy a honey glazed ham and you can't do anything easier than that. I slice and plate it the night before and serve it at room temperature or on the cool side. The potato salad recipe was my mother's and I always feel close to her as I chop and dice and then mix the dressing. Mary's Potato Salad 5 pounds of potatoes, boiled, peeled, and diced 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced 4 stalks of celery, diced small 1 small onion, diced small 1 pound of bacon, cooked, drained, and diced Mix together in a large bowl and coat with dressing, sprinkle with paprika. Mary's Dressing 1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing 1/4 cup milk 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons white vinegar Whisk together all ingredients and adjust as your taste suits you. Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Large head of broccoli, washed, dried and cut into bite sized pieces Large head of cauliflower, washed, dried and cut into bite sized pieces 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 1 pound of bacon, cooked, drain and diced (optional) Mix all together in a large bowl and add Mary's Dressing #2 Mary's Dressing #2 1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise 1/4 cup milk 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons white vinegar Super Beans 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 medium onion, diced Stir together on crock pot on high for 30 minutes then add 1 large can kidney beans, drained 1 can butter beans, drained 1 can lima beans, drained 2 cans pork & beans, undrained 1 pound bacon, cooked, drained, and diced (optional) Cook on low 4-6 hours Cucumber Salad 6 large cucumbers, thinly sliced 1 small white onion, thinly sliced 1 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon dried dill, or to taste Toss together the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cucumber and onions. Stir in dill, cover, and refrigerate until cold. Amish Macaroni Salad 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni 3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1-2 tablespoons dill pickle relish 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional) Dressing- 2 cups Miracle Whip 3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard ¾ cup white sugar 2 teaspoons white vinegar ¼ teaspoon salt Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside. In a large bowl mix the Miracle Whip, mustard, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Gently stir in the macaroni, diced eggs, onion, celery, red pepper and relish until well blended. Refrigerate covered until cold.
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Here is another chicken recipe that we really enjoy. It is flavorful, easy, and cooks in the crock pot, so you can set it up and have dinner ready when you are! You can serve it with pasta, rice, steamed vegetables, or, like us, with spaghetti squash. Tuscan Chicken 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half, making six servings 1 tablespoon olive oil 6 cloves of garlic 1 cup of heavy cream or 3/4 cup milk & 1/4 butter 1/3 cup chicken broth 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 3/4 cup chopped or julienned sun-dried tomatoes 2 cups of spinach, chopped into strips or large bite sized pieces Place chicken in the crock pot and season with Italian seasoning, then top with sun-dried tomatoes. In a small skillet or saucepan cook the garlic in the olive oil. When softened add the cream or milk & butter, and the chicken broth. Simmer on low for five minutes then add the parmesan cheese and whisk until blended. Pour the sauce over the chicken, covering pieces thoroughly. Cook on low 6 hours or high 4 hours. When cooking time is done add the spinach, pushing down into the liquid with a spoon or remove the chicken and add the spinach, stirring into the sauce, then spoon the spinach and sun-dried tomato sauce over the chicken. Enjoy! Ranch and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. 1 8 oz block cream cheese, softened 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese paprika Montreal Chicken Seasoning Slice chicken breast along the side, cutting 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the chicken to make a pocket. Mix rest of the ingredients thoroughly and spoon into each chicken breast, closing the pocket without squeezing cream cheese mix out. Sprinkle with paprika and Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Bake at 400 degrees 30-40 until cooked through. You can pour a little melted butter over the chicken pieces after ten or 15 minutes in the oven to help it brown if you like. The first snow of the season means it's a great day for chili! Start it early, let it simmer in the slow cooker, enjoy the aroma, and everyone can eat when they are hungry. This is a basic recipe but today I threw in some great northern beans I had on had to stretch it a bit for leftovers for tomorrow. Add what you love, what you have on hand, leave out what you don't like, etc. Top with shredded cheese and serve with warm bread. Yum! Chili 1 pound of lean ground beef 1 onion, diced 1 green pepper, diced 1 3 pound can of kidney beans, drained 2 1 pound cans of diced tomatoes, undrained 2 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce 2 cloves of garlic (or more) minced 1 tablespoon sugar chili powder 1-2 tablespoons Brown the ground beef and drain. Put in large slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Cook 4-6 hours on low or 1 1/2 on stove top. My daughter and I have been trying to eat a bit better and also trying different recipes. Since she picked up an eggplant the other day we decided to make ratatouille and add the eggplant in with the other ingredients even though it isn't listed on the original recipe. If you haven't made ratatouille before, it is so very easy, smells wonderful while it's cooking and tastes delicious! Along with the eggplant I also tossed in some red pepper I had in the refrigerator. Waste not, want not! While my mother's recipe says to simmer until it thickens, we found that simmering on low covered for 20 minutes and then another 20 minutes uncovered made it perfect.
Tonight we are having one of the easiest, moistest, and tastiest chicken dinners ever. It takes minutes to assemble and since both the chicken and veggies cook together in the oven, it is as simple as you can get. Clean up is super easy as well. I start the vegetables first since the carrots take longer to cook. I put them on a foil lined sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and seasoning, and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I use Kinder's Butter Steak seasoning but you can use whatever seasonings you like. Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning are wonderful, too. I often use whatever seasoning mix I have on hand, such as steak seasoning, on vegetables and even chicken. Next I cut the green beans, put them in a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil and season as well. When the 15 minutes at 400 degrees is up, I remove the pan from the oven, add the green beans, return the pan to the oven and reduce the heat to 350. Since the beans only take moments to prep I have time to make the chicken. I used 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half and placed them on a foil lined sheet pan sprayed with cooking spray. In a bowl I mix: 3/4 cup of light mayo 3/4 shredded cheese You can use parmesan or cheddar. I used parmesan 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon of garlic or garlic seasoning (tonight I used DeLallo bread dip seasoning) After mixing thoroughly, put a spoonful of mix on each piece of chicken and coat well. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, then broil for 3-5 minutes to brown the top. I love peanut butter and peanut butter pie is one of my favorite desserts! If I'm at a restaurant there aren't too many desserts I'll order but pb pie is number one. That's why I was so happy to find this super easy recipe! The recipe calls for a graham cracker crust but an Oreo crust is yummy, too! My daughter Abigail and granddaughter Carleigh were the chefs! New Year's eve is approaching quickly and you'll want to have some snacks on hand to send 2020 out and bring 2021 in with hope & best wishes. Everyone has their favorite snacks and very often we tend to serve them over and over again. Meatballs, chips & dip, and pigs in a blanket are yummy, but so last year! So if you're tired of the same old things or just want a new appetizer to try, one of these easy recipes may become a new favorite. Salami Rolls 1 pound of thinly sliced salami 1 block of cream cheese, softened blue cheese 4 oz or more - depends on how much you like it! Mix cream cheese and blue cheese, adding a bit of milk to thin if needed. Spread thinly on each slice of salami and roll, securing with a toothpick or laying the flap side down on the serving plate. Chill and serve. Crab Dip 1 8oz block of sour cream, softened 1/2 cup sour cream 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 4 dashes Tabasco 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning 1 pound of crab meat Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1 qt baking dish (I use a glass pie plate) with Pam . Mix all the ingredients except the crab meat & cheese, then fold in the crab and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Spoon into baking dish. Top with a sprinkle of Old Bay and the rest of the cheese. Bake for 20--30 minutes. Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. Cream Cheese & Pepper Jelly Place a block of cream cheese on a plate and spoon 4 oz of pepper jelly over the top, Use a small knife for spreading. Serve with Club crackers. |
AuthorHi! I'm Brenda and I live in southern Maryland with my husband Jeff. I have 7 children, 9 grandchildren, three dogs and a guinea pig. Archives
March 2021
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