Your first time cooking Easter Dinner for everyone can be a daunting task. But I am here to assure you that, yes, you can make Easter Dinner. So, here are some recipes that are grandmother-approved and nearly impossible to mess up.
Roast Over Rice, Very Nice
For this you will need:
- A roast or beef
- Seasonings of your choice (such as french onion, aus jus, pot roast, or other premade packets, or your own mix that you smack onto the meat all around and drizzle the top of the water. Or, for a smokey taste add some bottled “liquid smoke”.)
- Veggies: Onion, 1 stalk of celery, 1 bag of baby carrots, several potatoes (Even if you don’t like all those veggies, they are needed to get the beef and stew flavor just right.)
- Rice
*You may want to prepare a brown gravy or aus jus sauce on the side – from a packet is easy and will add extra goodness to this hearty, homey dish.
First, put your roast, veggies, and seasoning in a crockpot. Add water to just cover them. Cook on low the day before and then reheat OR cook on high that morning and eat at lunch.
While the roast re-heats or cools so it can be eaten, add equal amount of rice and water to a pot. The total rice cooked will be nearly double where the water line is. Add a little salt and boil, covered, for ten minutes. Add a little butter or margarine and pepper with fork and stir.
Serve in bowls or plates with or without gravy/sauce.
One Pan Poultry, Veggies, Potatoes
This is a heart-healthy meal that requires minimal prep and clean up.
All the ingredients you need, are right there in the title; chicken, veggies, and potatoes.
*Note – For homemade mashed potatoes: cut potato of your choice into chunks (about two per person) first and just cover with water to cook them faster. Boil until they are soft when you poke them with a fork. Mash potatoes by hand or use an electric mixer. Add butter, salt, and pepper while still hot. If you like them extra creamy add mayo, sour cream, or whole milk.
For veggies, I suggest 1 lb. fresh green beans and dice a yam or two (or potatoes) to roast. Put rosemary, thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper on them and bake on a sheet pan next to chicken.
Put butter, seasonings, lemon pepper seasoning, and a squirt of lemon juice on the chicken. You can also add sliced almonds for more taste to the veggies and poultry.
Bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes. Cut chicken at the thickest place to make sure it is cooked all the way through. Yam cubes should be squash-able, and green beans somewhat bendy.
Turkey gravy (like from a packet) makes a great addition to drizzle over this meal.
Nana’s Ham and Veggie Soup
You will need:
- Herbs of your choice, as well as pepper
- Ham, ham bone, or ham hocks
- Tomatoes: stewed, whole or fresh
- Onion – minced onion flakes or onion powder
- Mixed vegetables, soup vegetables, frozen or fresh
- Jiffy cornbread mix
Put your ham and herbs and tomatoes into a soup pot. Add water until it’s about half full, and boil them for about 30 minutes. Add vegetables, minced onion flakes, and black pepper and continue to cook on low for another 15-20 minutes. During this time, add water to your cornbread mix and pour into a greased cupcake tin. Cook as directed.
Cornbread is amazing in this soup! Comfort food off the charts!
Spring Picnic
Not only is the easiest, but I guarantee it will be memorable.
This meal will be a hit whether you want to fire up the grill or prepare your family’s favorite finger foods. You can even have a salad trio of pasta salad, fruit salad, and chicken/egg/or tuna salad sandwiches. Kids will love sitting outside if the weather is nice and eating together, especially if it’s before or after an egg hunt. You can even make an easy cheese ball that looks like a carrot!
Big Bunny Breakfast/Brunch
Getting up in Easter morning is exciting! One way to prevent a sugar crash is to gather together late morning for a huge breakfast. And why not make that breakfast Easter themed?
For example, you cake make pancakes look like a bunny, or mix several bowls of batter and add food coloring to each bowl to make pastel rainbow pancakes. Kids can even help with these. Add favorite lunch foods and sparkling juice to upgrade to brunch.
This will satisfy all your picky eaters, is ready fast, and is filling. You can even break this bread together while streaming church service online or video calling family.
Enjoy in your pajamas!
Don’t Forget Dessert!
Last but not least, for dessert, here’s a link to an easy bunny cake anyone can do. All you need is a box cake mix and whatever candy or icing you have lying around!
Even if you have to do it all by yourself for the very first time, you can make this Easter dinner one to remember.
Tips for making it your best?
- Make the best of what you have, get what you can, and plan your meal in advance. Remember, it only takes a little effort and a good attitude to wow your kids. They don’t need a bucket of candy and a large egg hunt.
- Have a sense of humor! One year, we went to open our dyed eggs and found out they never boiled all the way through. It was a hilarious mess, and though it could have been a huge disappointment (especially since we were out of eggs) it is now one of our favorite family jokes.
- If it’s hard to do things the normal way and struggle with it as an important religious holiday for you, take now to focus on the reason for Easter. Think of the grief they felt until that morning. Think of the sick, and be responsible to them as Jesus preached.
