Deviled Eggs

 

12 eggs, hard boiled
6 Tab. Mayonnaise
1 Tab. Pickle juice or vinegar
1 Tab. Yellow mustard
1 tea. Pepper
2 tea. Salt
Paprika for garnish

Slice hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise.  Carefully scoop out yolks. Place whites on a plate and se aside. Mash yolks with a fork until no large lumps are left. Add rest of the ingredients, except Paprika and mix until blended. Spoon into the whites halves.  Sprinkle with Paprika.

Marshmallow Filled Chocolate Eggs (GFCF)

3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin

2 cups of sugar

2/3 cup of white corn syrup

gfcf chocolate chips

Make marshmallows according to this recipe.

The next day, turn marshmallows out and cut with an egg-shaped cookie cutter.

Melt chocolate chips. Coat marshmallow eggs in chocolate. Turn out on a parchment lined cookie sheet or tray. Sprinkle with Easter sprinkles, if desired. Put in refrigerator to harden.

Save the leftover pieces of marshmallows and use as you would regular marshmallows.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filled Chocolate Eggs

½ cup soft butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons milk
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup mini chocolate chips

In large bowl cream together butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla, salt, flour, milk and powdered sugar. Mix until well combined, add chocolate chips.
Scoop dough into 1 inch + balls and shape into eggs on a parchment paper lined pan.
Freeze for at least 2 hours.
After 2 hours, melt the chocolate almond bark according to the package.
Dip each frozen egg into the chocolate, shake off extra and put on parchment paper, let dry.

Makes 16-18

Southern Green Beans

Once we had these, we had to go back out and get some more green beans to make another, double batch. They are so good! Green beans will never look the same again.

1 pound fresh green beans
4 teaspoons of beef bouillon (optional)
3 cups of water

1 cup of dry white wine
1 red onion, chopped
4-6 slices of uncooked bacon or turkey bacon, chopped into small pieces
Couple of glugs of olive oil
1 teaspoon of each: garlic, paprika, pepper, red pepper flakes (if you like some heat!)

Wash and chop off the stem of the green beans.
Place a pot or dutch oven on the stove and warm to medium heat.
Take the oil and pour it around the pan.
Add the bacon and cook until crispy, then add the onions and spices and cook until golden brown.
Add the water and wine, beef bouillon, if you are using it, and green beans.
Stir and cook on low heat for one hour so all the flavors meld together.

source: Inner Child Food

Easter Recipes from Household Ways

Nest Bread

Resurrection Rolls

Soft Bavarian Pretzels

Bunny Buns

Hot Cross Buns

Nest Bread for Easter

I found this recipe on Catholic Cuisine, which was posted by Waltzing Matilda. It is a variation of St. Lucia bread.

1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/4-ounce packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
optional- 1 tea. orange extract
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5-6 RAW colored eggs
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 tablespoons orange juice


Warm the milk in a small saucepan, then pour 1/2 cup of it into a large bowl. Add the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and let it set for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the remaining milk. Add the butter and milk mixture to the yeast mixture. Whisk in the eggs, juice, extract, 1/4 cup of sugar, orange rind, and salt.
Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes, adding more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic and does not stick to your hands.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning it once to coat it. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 5 or 6 equal parts. Roll each part into three ropes and braid the ropes together, Then, shape the dough into small braided rounds like a round nest, pinching together the ends to form a circle. Nestle an egg in the middle of the nest. The eggs must be raw eggs that have been colored in non-toxic food coloring. The egg will cook along with the bread and can be eaten as well. Some of the food coloring will bleed onto the bread which is why you want to make sure you use a non-toxic coloring substance. Transfer the rounds to a greased baking sheet and then place in the fridge overnight on Holy Saturday night. That will stall the second rise. When you are ready to bake on Easter morning, let the dough have a short second rise in a warm oven of about 30 minutes. Remove pans and heat the oven to 375°. Bake the bread for 25 minutes or until golden brown, then let it cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
For the glaze, stir together the confectioner's sugar and orange juice in a medium bowl until smooth. Drizzle the glaze mix over the bread. You can also sprinkle with colored sugar, if desired.

Resurrection Rolls

We made Resurrection Rolls. I have seen these so many places, I can't begin to give credit to the appropriate person.
You will need crescent rolls, cinnamon sugar, marshmallows and confectioner's sugar or honey.

To make them, take crescent rolls, sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar...

and put a marshmallow inside and roll the dough all around, making sure that the dough covers all the marshmallow.

Put it on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, and then turn off the oven and let them rest in the oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile you can tell or read from the Bible the story of Christ's body being laid in a tomb and when the stone was rolled back, the tomb was empty.

Once you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with a little powdered sugar.

When you give them out, they will quickly see that the rolls are light...

and empty inside.

Just like Jesus' tomb.
Happy Easter!

Bunny Buns

recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

1 - (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 1/2 - cups warm water (110 degrees F)
3 1/4 - cups all-purpose flour
1/2 of regular box (18.5 oz) cake mix (approx 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup butter, softened to brush on baked rolls
Cinnamon Sugar
Colored Easter Sprinkles
You will also need for the icing, if desired
2 - cups powdered sugar
2 - tablespoons milk
1/2 - teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - teaspoon butter, softened
2 drops red food coloring

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cake mix. Beat until dough is smooth. Add some flour on the counter and knead any additional flour into the dough. Knead until it is no longer sticky. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes - 1 hour. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll dough into a long rectangle 1/2-inch thick. Cut dough into strips 1/2-inch wide and 14-inches long.  Reserve 1-2 of the strips to cut into pieces about 1/2-inch long and roll into small balls, to use for bunny tails.

photo from Mommy's Kitchen

Place one long piece of dough on parchment paper or a greased baking sheet. Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over the other end. Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop, to be the tail.

Brush the bunnies with melted butter and sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

Cover the bunnies with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with baking spray. Allow the rolls to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, until nearly double in size. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Let cool and then brush on simple icing and add holiday sprinkles to the plain rolls. Just add the simple icing to the cinnamon ones.

Simple Icing
2 - cups powdered sugar
2 - tablespoons milk
1/2 - teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - teaspoon butter, softened
to make it pink, you will need to add 2 drops of liquid food coloring

Stir the powdered add the butter and blend with a fork. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and mix until you have the consistency of a pourable glaze. Brush on the glaze while the bunnies are still warm. Add colored sprinkles.

Hot Cross Buns For Easter

with just raisins

with fruitcake fruit mix

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
4 eggs
5 cups flour
1 1/3 cups currants, raisins and/or fruitcake mix fruit
1 egg white

Glaze
1 1/3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest
1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1- 2 tablespoons milk

In a small saucepan, heat milk to very warm, but not hot (110°F if using a candy thermometer). Fit an electric mixer with a dough hook. Pour warm milk in the bowl of mixer and sprinkle yeast over. Mix to dissolve and let sit for 5 minutes.
With mixer running at low speed, add sugar, salt, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and eggs. Gradually add flour, dough will be wet and sticky, and continue kneading with dough hook until smooth, about 5 minutes. Detach bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough "rest" for 30-45 minutes.

Return bowl to mixer and knead until smooth and elastic, for about 3 more minutes. Add currants or raisins and knead until well mixed. At this point, dough will still be fairly wet and sticky. Shape dough in a ball, place in a buttered dish, cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the refrigerator. Excess moisture will be absorbed by the morning.

Let dough sit at room temperature for about a half-hour. Line a large baking pan (or pans) with parchment paper (you could also lightly grease a baking pan, but parchment works better). Divide dough into 24 equal pieces (in half, half again, etc., etc.). Shape each portion into a ball and place on baking sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

In the meantime, pre-heat oven to 400° F. When buns have risen, take a sharp or serrated knife and carefully slash buns with a cross. Brush them with egg white and place in oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° F, then bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack. Whisk together glaze ingredients, and spoon over buns in a cross pattern. Serve warm, if possible.

Bear Bread for Kids

2 pkg. (4.5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

about 6 1/2 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/3 cup warm water. Heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt to 110 degrees F. Add to dissolved yeast along with eggs and 3 cups of flour. Beat for 3 minutes on medium speed. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide the dough into fourths. Shape one of the fourths into a ball and place each one on a greased baking sheet to serve as the body of the bear.

 Now divide one of the fourths in half, and shape into a ball, and place above the body piece to serve as the head.

Divide the remaining fourths each into seven pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Don't worry about uneven dividing. Have them pick out the four largest balls for the paws, the next two largest balls for the ears, and the smallest ball for the nose of each bear.

Place raisins or something similar on for the eyes.

Cover the bears with a wet tea towel and let them rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until doubled.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until browned. Cool on a wire rack.
I found the recipe and idea here at The Frugal Girl.

I have also seen this wonderful lesson with bear bread fractions at Almost Unschoolers.

Candy Pizza

When I saw this recipe from Pamela of French Knots, I knew that my boys, especially Sam, would love it. Although she uses it as an Easter treat, I could not wait until Easter, but I did wait for a celebratory time. It would also be a great way of using up Halloween candy.

First mix up the cookie batter for the crust:
1 1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup nestles mini morsels - semi sweet

Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add salt, baking soda and flour - stir until combined. Add mini chocolate chips. Place dough in a greased 14" round pizza pan or a 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 1" rectangular pan. Cook for 15 to 17 minutes at 375 degrees.

While the crust is baking, chop up the candies of your choice for the toppings. We used Hershey's Chocolate bars, Milky Ways, Kit Kats, Almond Joy, and Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, but you can use whatever you like or have on hand. When they are crushed up, you can also add M & M's, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, butterscotch chips and sugared pecans, or anything else you would like to add that does not need to be crushed up. Put aside.

Then in a microwave safe bowl add: 1 cup milk chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Heat until melted and smooth. It makes a yummy sauce.

Once the cookie dough is done baking, smooth the sauce all over the top.

Put on all of those topping made earlier.

Allow cookies to completely cool in pan. Once cooled serve and enjoy.