Happy Resurrection Sunday!

As we eagerly anticipate celebrating what is one of the most significant events in history, I thought I would share our Easter Sunday menu! We're looking forward to all being together as a family ... daughter home from college with a friend ... and good friends to join us. Eleven of us in all will enjoy the following ...

Smoked Picnic (ham) that will slow cook in my crock pot all night tonight
Ham Gravy (which I will make just before dinner is served)
Potato Salad (our first of the season!)
Applesauce Jello
Green Beans (that I canned last fall)
Hot Cross Buns (just took them out of the oven - they small delicious)
Blueberry Muffins

And a "mystery" dessert that my friend is bringing. She makes the best "sweets" so I'm sure it will be yummy.

I wish you a most blessed Resurrection Sunday and pray that you all have a reason to celebrate.

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Creme de menthe Cake

I wanted something sweet, but not icky sweet, for dessert tonight. Couldn't decide what sounded good until I came across this recipe. A family favorite, it's easy to serve "straight up" or dressed and fancy with your favorite icing recipe. I'm sure we'll enjoy this tonight!

OVEN: 350 degrees

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1/3 cup canola oil
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1 pkg instant pistachio pudding
1/4 cup creme de menthe syrup
6-8 oz chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together well and pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake 55-60 minutes. Cool for 15-20 minutes in pan on a rack. Turn from bundt pan onto plate.

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Egg Bread

I have an abundance of eggs this week (which is somewhat unusual in this house) so I went looking for a new Egg Bread recipe to try. I found this one in the Bread Machine Gourmet. After a little tweaking of the recipe, I gave it a whirl. This one is definitely a keeper. It delivered what the book promised ... a light and airy bread.

OVEN: 350 degrees

1/3 cup warm milk
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I prefer white wheat flour)
1 1/4 cups bread flour (you can replace 1/4 cup of this with graham flour)
1/2 cup warm water
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 Tablespoon honey (I have Goldenrod honey)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Add ingredients to pan in bread machine. Use dough setting ... when done, shape loaf and place in large loaf pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from loaf pan and cool on wire rack.



Tastes wonderful just warm out of the oven ... with a nice glop of that goldenrod honey!

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Stir Fry Sauce

This is one of the simplest sauces I have in my recipe book, but it has lots of uses. One of the ways I like to fix some of those fresh veggies from our garden is to stir fry them. Any mix of carrots, onions, peppers, green beans ... really almost any veggie ... tastes great with this sauce.

1/4 cup of your favorite soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 minced garlic clove)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons corn starch

Whisk these ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Add to veggies a few minutes before they are finished cooking. Simmer 3-5 minutes to allow veggies to soak in flavor.

Enjoy!!

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Zucchini Chip Bread

This zucchini recipe is from my mom. There's virtually nothing in life that doesn't taste better when you add a bit of chocolate! Well ... almost nothing. This recipe is fun because it uses applesauce to add moisture and great flavor.

OVEN: 350 degrees

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine the first six ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients until just moist. Fold in zucchini, nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into two greased 9x5x3" loaf pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan to finish cooling on rack.

You get to decide if this qualifies as a bread or dessert!

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Zucchini Bread

This was my mother-in-law's zucchini bread recipe. She was awesome in the kitchen ... making some of the best baked goods I've ever tasted. In her younger days she worked in a bakery and her entire family benefited from that experience. She rarely wrote down recipes, so having even a couple is truly a treasure!

OVEN: 350 degrees

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream oil and butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Stir in dry ingredients. Add chopped nuts or raisins if desired. Spoon in a large, greased loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes in the loaf pan on a rack. Remove to rack to finish cooling.

This bread is best baked a day ahead of when you want to serve. Freezes well.

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