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FAMILY FEATURES -- Even if Easter hosting duties fell on your plate this year and added one more thing to your holiday to-do list, that doesn't mean it has to be difficult. After all, Easter is a time meant for fun and fellowship with the food just one part of the celebration.
Building the menu around simple, one-pan dishes can keep the focus where it needs to be: spending time and creating memories with family and friends. These dishes call for short lists of ingredients, many of which you may already have in your pantry, and simple preparation to create a full spread perfect for sharing with loved ones. Plus, using only one pan makes cleanup a breeze, so you can get back to the festivities quickly.
A dish like this Easter Roast lets you check both the main course and side dishes off your list, relying on the oven to do most of the work for you after some quick prep work. Similarly easy to prepare, these Refrigerator Rolls can also be made up to six days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to bake – a perfect complement to the savory roast and veggies.
Finish off your feast with an adaptable dessert like this Blueberry Crumble. Made using just five ingredients and ready in about an hour, you can swap the blueberry pie filling and yellow cake mix for any combination that suits your guests' tastes like apple pie filling with spice cake or cherry pie filling with chocolate cake; the sky's the limit when it comes to satisfying that sweet tooth.
For more Easter recipe inspiration, visit Culinary.net.
Easter Roast
Yield: 1 roast
Salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 roast (3 pounds)
1 bag (1 pound) baby carrots
1 bag (1 1/2 pounds) trio potatoes or potato of choice
3 cups beef broth
1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon garlic pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 bundle asparagus
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder over roast and rub into front, back and sides. Place seasoned roast in middle of large roasting pan.
Place carrots on one side of roasting pan and potatoes on other side.
In large bowl, mix beef broth and cream of mushroom soup with garlic pepper. Pour mixture over roast, potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle brown sugar over carrots and add chopped onion. Cover and cook 2 1/2 hours then remove from oven, add asparagus and cook uncovered 30 minutes.
Serve from pan or place on platter for more formal presentation.
Refrigerator Rolls
Yield: 18 rolls
2 packages yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups lukewarm water
6-7 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1 stick softened butter
oil, divided
In large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. When yeast is foamy, add 3 cups flour. Mix in salt, eggs and butter.
Once mixed well, add remaining flour 1 cup at a time and knead dough into ball in bowl. Remove dough from bowl and place on clean surface.
Wash and dry bowl then grease with drizzle of oil. Place dough in bowl and let rise 1 hour or store in refrigerator if making in advance.
When ready to use, grease muffin pan with oil. Roll dough into hand-size balls and place in each muffin hole; cover 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake rolls 30 minutes.
Note: Dough can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator up to six days. If making ahead, punch down dough, cover and place in refrigerator. Punch down daily until ready to use.
Blueberry Crumble
Yield: 1 cake
1 can blueberry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 bag (4 ounces) chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup oil
whipped cream, for serving (optional)
vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread pie filling on bottom of 9-by-11-inch pan. Sprinkle cake mix and pecans on top. Do not mix.
Drizzle melted butter and oil on top of cake mix and pecans. Do not mix. Lift pan and tilt from side to side until cake mix is completely covered in butter.
Bake 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
For kids who want to get crafty
Holiday hams and deviled eggs may take center stage at Easter gatherings, but edible crafts offer a reminder of the magic of the season that's found in moments spent together. Simple recipes that call for a dose of creativity are perfect ways to bring the kids to the kitchen, made even easier when all that work leads to sweet treats.
While plastic eggs may have led to a decline in good, old-fashioned egg-dyeing, there are still fun ways to bring crafts back to Easter celebrations. Consider these Kids Krafty Easter Cake Pops, which call for little ones to help dip seasonal shapes in chocolate, use cake molds and more.
Children of virtually any age can relish in the joys of using cookie cutters and decorating Easter Sugar Cookies, all with a little supervision and short list of instructions. This version shows how to make the cookies and homemade icing so you can create any color you desire for maximum creativity.
Remember, these delicious crafts don't have to be perfect -- having fun and making memories that last a lifetime are what make Easter truly special.
Visit Culinary.net to find more Easter inspiration and recipes from "Cookin' Savvy."
Kids Krafty Easter Cake Pops
Recipe courtesy of "Cookin' Savvy"
1 box cake mix
1 can frosting
1 bunny chocolate mold
1 cakesicle mold
ice pop sticks
1 bag white chocolate chips or melting chips
cake pop sticks
1 bag orange melting chips
2 tablespoons canola or coconut oil, divided
1 bag green melting chips
pastel sprinkles
1 piece hard foam (optional)
edible markers
Bake cake according to package instructions and let cool completely.
Crumble cake and mix with 1/2 can frosting until dough forms. Add more frosting, if needed. Using small cookie scoop, form dough into balls and set aside. Place dough in bunny molds then pop out and set aside with balls. Place dough in cakesicle mold, insert ice pop stick in each slot and freeze 5-10 minutes.
Melt handful of white melting chips. Stick tip of each cake pop stick in chocolate then insert into every cake ball and bunny until each has one stick. Set aside to dry.
Remove cakesicles from freezer and pop out of molds. In bowl, melt orange melts then mix in 1 tablespoon oil and transfer to cup. Dip cakesicles and scrape off excess using rim of cup. Place on parchment paper to dry.
In bowl, melt green melts then place in zip-top or piping bag. Cut tip off bag, pipe carrot leaves onto piece of parchment paper and let dry.
Melt remaining white melts and mix in remaining oil. Transfer to cup and dip ball-shaped cake pops and bunnies then tap stick on edge of cup to remove excess.
Over separate bowl, sprinkle ball-shaped pops with pastel sprinkles. To keep ball shape, let dry by sticking in piece of hard foam. Bunnies can dry face side up on parchment paper. After bunnies are dry, use edible markers to make face and color in ears.
When carrots and leaves are dry, remelt orange melts and place in piping or zip-top bag. Cut off tip and drizzle orange over carrots. Add small line of orange on each ice pop stick and place leaves on each stick. Let dry.
Easter Sugar Cookies
Recipe courtesy of "Cookin' Savvy"
Icing:
1/3 cup meringue powder
1/2 cup warm water, plus additional for thinning (optional), divided
3 tablespoons vanilla
1 bag (2 pounds) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
assorted food coloring
Cookies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 dash salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
To make icing: Mix meringue powder, 1/2 cup warm water, vanilla, powdered sugar and corn syrup. Separate into bowls and add food coloring; mix with water, as needed, to thin for piping.
To make cookies: Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time to form dough. Roll dough out to 1/4-1/2-inch thickness.
Cut into shapes, place on baking sheet and freeze 10 minutes. Bake 8-12 minutes. Cool completely before icing.
Place icing in zip-top or piping bags and cut off tips. Put cookies on parchment paper. Trace outline first then fill in middle. Use toothpicks to smooth out.
Let dry 6 hours and finish decorating with different icing colors or edible markers.