An Easter Wrap-Up

What a wonderful Easter!  The church service was one of the best ever!  What a blessing to be able to attend such an inspiring church service!  And then, it was so pleasing to come home and have family over to our home for dinner.  Because I had a lot going on on Sunday, I prepared almost all of the meal on Saturday and just popped it out of the fridge or the crockpot.  I thought it would be nice to share the recipes we enjoyed with all of you.

The first one is a common one and most of you probably make it from heart by now, but I thought I'd share it anyway. 

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

½ crown broccoli

½ crown cauliflower

½ cup raisins

½ red onion

½ package of real bacon bits

Dressing:

1 cup real mayo

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into bit-sized pieces and chop the onion and add to the broccoli and cauliflower in a large mixing bowl.  Add the raisins and bacon bits.

In a smaller bowl mix all of the dressing ingredients well.  Add to the bowl of broccoli and cauliflower ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate several hours and serve.

The next recipe is a little less common and I couldn't locate my copy, so I turned to the web and came up empty-handed.  I rechecked by recipe file once again and there it was, relief! I had not made this in a while but was rewarded with that first bite. I remembered why I loved it so many years ago.  I am not sure where I found this recipe originally, but hopefully will not wait so many years to make it again.

Mushroom Salad

1 cup salad oil

2 teaspoons of salt

2½ teaspoons each of dried basil and Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon each of pepper and paprika

5 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

4 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 pounds of sliced mushrooms of your choice

1 bunch of green onions sliced

Cherry tomatoes

Mix the salad oil, salt, basil, mustard, pepper, paprika, vinegar and lemon juice.  Pour this dressing over the mushrooms and onions.  Let marinate at least an hour before serving.  Garnish with tomatoes and serve.

The next salad is a new one to me and I make it frquently in the summer because of the refreshing lime and apricot combination with the carrots.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Honey-Lime Carrot Salad

Zest and juice of 2 limes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon dry mustard

1¼ pounds carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise

3 small scallions, sliced

In a medium pan over low heat, cook lime juice, olive oil, honey, mustard until warm, about 1 minute.  Removed from heat and cover.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook carrots until just tender crisp, 2-3 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.

Add dried apricots and scallions, then toss salad with warm honey-lime dressing.  Sprinkle with lime zest.

We had all of the salads with shredded turkey breast sandwiches.  I cooked a turkey breast overnight in the crockpot with a whole onion laid in the neck cavity of the bird and some Montreal Steak Seasoning sprinkled on it.  In the morning, the bones just lift out and I shred the meat with the juices and served the meat hot on buns.

The last recipe is the pie we enjoyed with just a little vanilla Haagen-Dazs.  It is a recipe shared from my friend Ruth.

Spring/Fall Pie

1½ cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1½ cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, diced, thawed and drained

1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1½ cups chopped and peeled tart apples (Granny Smith)

Pastry for a double crust pie (9 inch)

In a large bowl, combine sugar and flour; stir in rhubarb, cranberries and apples.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom pastry and add filling.  Cover with a lattice crust.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 40 minutes longer or until filling is bubbly.

As if all of the above was not enough food, my sweetie bought me a Easter egg like no other.  I share the pictures of this three layered egg unfolding.  Until next time, thanks for reading.

All three layers are my favorite chocolates, Godiva!  During lent I give up chocolate, so welcome back to the world of chocolate to me!  I also love well-designed boxes (strange little things make me happy) and this one will certainly go into my collection.  Hope your Easter 2011 was memorable and as our pastor said in his sermon, each Sunday is a mini Easter!