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Easter Dinner
by Valerie de Armas
Spring is in the air and thoughts of
the Easter Bunny are upon us. I have come up with a traditional Easter dinner
for you to enjoy. It's been years since my family has had one. Maybe it's
time to get back into the tradition.
The menu:
Glazed Ham
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Coconut Cake
The décor:
Festive paper plates, napkins, tableware, etc.
Stuffed bunny centerpiece
Easter Egg Place cards
Glazed Ham
5-6 lb. cooked ham
24 whole cloves
½ c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. dry mustard
Score the fat surface of the ham and place a clove in each intersecting cut.
Combine brown sugar and dry mustard. Sprinkle on ham.
Cook
at 325 for 1-1 ½ hours.
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Make it special by making real mashed potatoes.
6-8 large potatoes
2-3 Tbsp. butter
¼ c milk
salt and pepper to taste
Peel potatoes and cut into chunks.
Cook in boiling water 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Use an
electric
mixer on low speed to mash. Add butter, salt and pepper.
Gradually add milk while continuing to mix. (Hint: If you heat the milk,
it will make your potatoes fluffier)
Green Bean Casserole
2 cans French style green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbsp. sour cream
½ c milk
1 ½ small cans French Fried onions
Mix together all ingredients except for ½ can of the onions.
Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes.
Sprinkle ½ small can of onions on top of casserole. Bake 5 more
minutes.
Coconut Cake
2 c self-rising flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ c shortening
1 ¾ c sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 egg whites
1 ½ c buttermilk
Grease and lightly flour a rectangular
baking
pan. Stir together flour and baking soda. In a large mixing bowl, beat
shortening with an
electric
mixer on high for 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
Add egg whites and mix well.
Add ¾ c buttermilk and mix well. Add half of dry mixture a little at
a time, mixing well on low after each addition. Add the remaining buttermilk
and mix well. Add the remaining dry mixture a little at a time, mixing well
on low after each addition. Pour batter into baking pan. Bake at 350 for
30-35 minutes. Let cake cool before frosting.
Coconut Frosting
1/2 c shortening
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 c powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk
½ c flaked coconut
Beat shortening and vanilla with electric mixer on medium for 1 minute. Add
powdered sugar and milk slowly while continuing to mix. Stir in coconut.
Frost cooled cake.
For the décor, I'll use paper items with a spring or Easter theme.
PartiesPlus has a JackRabbit theme and a Spring Bouquet theme available.
These will provide a very festive atmosphere with the added advantage of
saving clean up time!
I'm going to borrow my daughter's stuffed bunny from last year and use it
as a simple but appropriate centerpiece. I'll add a little pastel confetti
that the children will enjoy making.
I'm also going to enlist the children's help with the place cards. I'll help
the children boil eggs and decorate them and we'll write each guest's name
on an egg. Each egg will be placed on a small amount of Easter grass above
the guest's plate.
The key to having a successful dinner like this is to make sure everyone
in the family gets involved. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest can
help in some way. Traditions are important to everyone, let's keep them alive
and fun and growing.
More You Might Like:
Easter Egg Door Hanger
Easter Basket Filler Ideas
Earth Day Eggs
About the Author:
Valerie de Armas is a work at home
mom of 3 who enjoys cooking and family traditions. She has her own business,
PartiesPlus, providing
themed party supplies, costumes, favors and more for her customers.
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