Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Hot Wassail

Boil 2 C. water

Add
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Simmer 10 minutes

Add 2 c. sugar, juice of 3 lemons (1 lemon =3-4 TB), 1 small frozen OJ concentrate.

Add 3 qts. Hot water

Easter

Every year I always have a brain lapse of what we did the year before...for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter...you get the point. 

So, here is our Easter menu in one single place!

Ham
We cook the ham in the roaster oven (saves us oven space for the potatoes and other misc.) at 325* for 2 hours.  We actually set it in a 9x13 dish, covered with pineapple juice, brown sugar and then I toothpicked the pineapples and covered in foil.  I put that in the fridge about 1 1/2 hours BEFORE we cooked it!

Creamy Potatoes Au Gratin from Allrecipes

Makes 8
8 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices


  • 2 onion, sliced into rings
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups milk
  • 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.
    2. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
    3. In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
    4. Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.


    Deviled Eggs
    6 boiled eggs
    1/4 c. salad dressing
    1/4 tsp. dry ground mustard
    1/2 tsp vinegar
    1/8 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp pepper
    Paprika

    Remove egg yolks, mush.  Add ingredients and then add more to taste.  I added more salad dressing, mustard and vinegar to get the right taste and texture.  They were delish!

    Asparagus
    Boil water.  Snap off ends of asparagus and add to water.  Cook for maximum 3 minutes.  If they are thick 3 min. thin...much less.  I usually go by the look of them..they change to bright green!

    Hollandaise sauce
    from a packet!  Unless I am much more brave and then by hand, but it is tedious and takes a long time.  I made the mistake of buying McCormick this year...buy Knorr's if you can!  Different taste..not a fan.

    HUGE SALAD with extra boiled eggs :)

    Loni brought rolls
    Amy brought cookies

    I bought Angel food cake, strawberries and whipped cream

    Family Favorite Mac & Cheese

    Homemade goodness!  This is from Betty Crocker, but I have made some changes to fit our family and taste preference. My changes in RED.

    2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (7oz) I used 16 oz of penne pasta
    1/4 c. butter or margarine
    1/4 c. flour
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/4 tsp. pepper
    1/4 tsp. ground mustard (Make sure it is ground mustard!  I used prepared on accident and not enough flavor..but the family still loved it!)
    1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
    2 c. milk
    2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

    2 TB Olive Oil
    1/4 c. +/- Panko bread crumbs
    Garlic Salt
    Parmesan Cheese

    1. Heat oven to 350*.
    2. Cook macaroni as directed on package.
    3. While mac is cooking, melt butter in another saucepan over low heat.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly.  Stir in milk and heat to boil; stir constantly.  Boil 1 minute.  REMOVE from heat and stir in cheese.  Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted.
    4.  Drain macaroni.  Gently stir in cheese sauce.  Pour in ungreased 2-quart (9x13) casserole. Add panko mixture to top Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

    This was delish!  We even added a bit of ketchup to spice it up.  I think that if I would have READ the ground mustard vs. prepared the flavor would've been more intense.

    Makes 6 serving (3/4c. each)

    Cranberry Salsa Dip