Easter Recipe Round-Up {Salads, Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Desserts!}

With Easter coming up next weekend and family get-togethers happenin' after church, I thought I'd do a little round-up of some recipes that would make a great addition to any Easter meal!

My sister and her family will be here at our house for Easter dinner and I'm cookin' the big meal. I haven't finalized our meal plan yet, but some of these will definitely be on our menu.

I've chosen a big ol' variety of things - but I know that coming up with side dishes can be a big challenge. And, they're not only the toughest to come up with, but also what you're often asked to bring along if you're heading to a family/friend Easter dinner. So, I've included a whole bunch of side dishes and gone lighter on the desserts.

Of course, if you're making/bringing a dessert, you can find a whole lot of those in the Desserts category.

So, here are 12 Easter recipe ideas - a wide variety of dishes - to give you some inspiration for your Easter celebration - whatever it may be.

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Mandarin Orange Salad with Glazed Almonds. Pretty food alert! I made this salad last Friday, and was reminded how much I LOVE THIS SALAD. The mandarin oranges, the candied almonds - they are the perfect complement to this really easy homemade dressing.

Simple Greek Salad. This salad is one of my summer favorites, but we eat it year round. It would be great alongside just about any cut of meat - a ham, turkey, roast beef, pork roast. It's tangy and full of flavor.

Cran-Raspberry Pretzel Salad. It wouldn't be an extended family dinner in my husband's family without some version of this pretzel salad. I love this stuff. So good!

Homemade Beer Bread. Easy, perfect bread (with no rising or fuss). It's great for hot and cold appetizer dips - or served with dinner.

Pit Beef. If you've got your grill out, this traditional Baltimore recipe for Pit Beef is a great main dish for a large group. You can grill one or two of these, and serve the meat with traditional side dishes, or make up a sandwich bar.

Mom's Roast Beef. If you haven't decided on a main dish, our family recipe for roast beef is a show-stopper. It makes the most delicious gravy, and is comfort food at its best.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes. If you're making a recipe that has gravy or a sauce, there's nothing better than smooth, creamy mashed potatoes. Need the no-gravy version? Try this Cheesy Mashed Potato Bake.

Homemade Applesauce. Mmmm. Homemade Applesauce. Easy, quick, and you can serve it warm or cold. A great make-ahead, no fuss dish that will surely be different than what anyone else is bringing.

Broccoli Casserole. One of my all-time favorite side dishes. It's not as finicky as fresh broccoli, that can be easily overcooked or get cold really quickly. The buttery, crunchy top sets this apart from a standard side of steamed broccoli.

Zucchini Quiche. My sister, Aimee, requests this as one of the sides at her birthday dinner each year. It's heavy enough to be a main dish during the week, and a great side-dish to a big dinner. If you're having Easter Brunch, this one is perfect for that.

Blackberry Cobbler. The easiest cobbler recipe anywhere. Blackberry, blueberry, apple, strawberry, peach - you make whatever version you like and watch it disappear.

SG's Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. I never liked carrot cake. Pineapple, nuts, scratchy, weird spices? The combination was just not my favorite. So, I came up with a simple, delicious, no-nuts, no fruit carrot cake that has the most decadent cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

I hope these give you some fresh inspiration and different ideas to add to your Easter menu.

All of these recipes are favorites in my family - and would make great additions to your Easter get-together.

If you have any questions about any of these, I'll respond in the comments.

Happy Easter planning, everybody!

Originally posted March 29, 2012.

Holland Annabelle: About Her Name

It was a beautiful, sunny, fifty-degree day when we moved into that house in mid-November.

We had, just a day earlier, said "Goodbye" to our friends and family and traveled 12 hours from our home in Baltimore. Jason accepted a position working in-house with his company, and that required us to move our little family of three to the headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As the movers unloaded our boxes, I was hopeful. Hopeful that this new life we were starting so many miles from our family and friends would be rich and full. Hopeful that we would find meaningful friendships. Hopeful that we could do this.

We settled in amongst our unpacked boxes on that beautiful fall day and the very next day, it snowed.

And, it snowed.

And, it snowed.

It snowed every day until we left to go back home for Christmas. I was pregnant with Max and the snow - oh, the SNOW - it was everywhere. We quickly learned that automatic car starters aren't made for the lazy, but for Midwesterners. That snow boots will save your tailbone and toosh from a good pounce on the ground. And, that people really do buy those full-length down coats in the Eddie Bauer catalog.

It snowed all winter long, and we were immediately baptized into life in the Midwest.

We welcomed Max in February, then joyfully welcomed Spring and spent our first summer trying to find our way around our new town. We met new friends and spent most of our time close to our home and savoring the summer's sunny days on our back deck.

Because we knew - THE SNOW IS COMING!

And, it came. It snowed all winter. Again. I looked at my husband one bleak day in the middle of that second winter, as my arthritis raged and I kicked snow off of my boots as we carried in the groceries, and cried out in despair:

"I don't want to live here anymore."

We made it through our second winter, and summer arrived. We decided one day to pack up our two little boys and explore. Jason had heard buzzings of a little town just outside of Grand Rapids and told me it sounded perfect for a sunny, summer day.

We drove 30 minutes outside of town and as we got closer, Jack pointed out the sailboats on the water. We saw ice cream shoppes and families on bikes and beach houses.

We pulled up into the parking lot that sits just above the beach and we couldn't believe what was before us:

Lake Michigan - in all of its grandeur and beauty. Sand - stretching for miles along this massive expanse of water that met the horizon out as far as we could see. Beach umbrellas, sand castles, families, ice cream cones, rafts, and gentle, fresh water waves that lapped up against the shore - the perfect playground for our boys.

As we drove home in our sand-bathed car that beautiful, glorious, fun-filled day, we couldn't believe the treasure we'd just discovered. This precious, quaint little town. That glorious lake. That powdery sand between our toes. Just 30 minutes from our home. Ever-inviting us to come and enjoy.

After tucking in two sun-kissed faces, and crawling into bed, I rested my head on Jason's shoulder and quietly whispered:

"I can live here now."

In the three more years that we lived in Grand Rapids, we eagerly awaited each summer and spent most of our weekends at that beach. Playing in the sand, splashing in the water, walking through the streets of downtown with ice cream cones dripping down to our elbows. Date nights. Double date nights. Family nights. And, every time we had out-of-town visitors, we always took them there.

The name of this perfect, little beach town situated on the shore of Lake Michigan?

Holland.

Holland. Our forever reminder that God loves to give us the most unexpected of gifts.

Holland. The name for our girl.

We chose Annabelle for her middle name.

It is my great, great-grandmother's name and my sister, Anna, is named after her. We also chose Annabelle to honor Jason's great-aunt, Anna Bell (her maiden name) - whose love for life and sweet spirit are truly remarkable and who is still gracing our lives with laughter at ninety years old.

We call her Holly - a nickname we chose because we celebrate our wedding anniversary every December, and that time of year is so very special to us.

We praise God for our Holland Annabelle - God's beautiful, unexpected gift to us.

Bruschetta Chicken

Since I haven't done much blogging since the birth of our sweet girl, I thought I'd tiptoe back into this little space with a recipe.

Because, well...FOOD! I mean, a girl's gotta eat.

If we're friends on Facebook or Instagram, you've seen a bazillion photos of our Holly girl. And, I'll get to posting them here soon. Honestly, her birth and life have been such emotional experiences for me that I just haven't had the mental or emotional resourcefulness to write about them yet.

Because, well...HORMONES! Maybe cracking open this computer will get me going, again. No promises.

So today - a favorite recipe.

Bruschetta Chicken.

I've made this one many times. I originally got this recipe from my friend, Chickie, two years ago. But, since I've made it EACH of the last two weeks, it's time to share. Because it's become a family favorite around here and I think y'all will love it, too.

My finicky, picky, "dis tastes yucky and smells like poo poo" kids DEVOUR this dish. (Yes, they have said that about various things. Too many times to count.)

This is one of those recipes that takes minimal effort, but has a HUGE payoff - in looks and in flavor.

You must, must, must use fresh basil, fresh tomato, and fresh Mozzarella. Those fresh ingredients are what make this dish so absolutely delicious.

The basic idea is to bake or grill marinated (Store bought marinade! Holla!) chicken, and then layer it with Bruschetta toppings before broiling it or finishing it off on the grill.

Baked (or grilled) Chicken.

Fresh, sliced tomato.

Fresh basil.

Fresh, sliced Mozzarella.

Broil or finish on the grill and VOILA...

EASY, delicious, beautiful Bruschetta Chicken.

*Note: This is as easy to make for two people as it is for thirty. You could make 2-3 pans of this in the oven all at once if you're having a big party! And, your guests will LOVE it!

I usually serve it with mashed or roasted potatoes and a salad.

Hope y'all love this one as much as we do!

Bruschetta Chicken
adapted from this recipe...
serves 4-6

4 chicken breasts
1/2 bottle Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing and Marinade
8 ounces fresh mozzarella (usually comes in a ball or log)
2 ripe tomatoes
fresh basil

Halve chicken breasts. Combine chicken and 1/2 bottle of dressing in a plastic bag or baking dish and marinate. (I often skip this step cause I'm winging it at 5:30.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken halves marinated in dressing in baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until juices run clear from chicken.

While chicken is baking, slice fresh mozzarella into 8 pieces and slice tomatoes, about 1/4 inch thick. When chicken is baked, remove baking dish and set oven to broil. Top each chicken breast with one slice of tomato, one basil leaf, and finish with one slice of fresh mozzarella. Broil for 5 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted.

*If grilling, grill marinated chicken then top with tomato, basil, and mozzarella. Close grill cover and continue to grill until cheese is melted.

I'd Like You To Meet Someone...

On December 27th at 2:04 pm, we got the most adorable and delightful surprise.

We got to meet our girl!

{Yes, we had a girl! We can hardly believe it ourselves.}

Holland Annabelle
6lbs, 8oz.
19 1/4"

We affectionately call her Holly.

She has a full head of beautiful dark hair, which my friends with girls tell me will soon house hair bows and clips and braids and all things new to me.

We are over the moon in love with her.

Her four older brothers adore her (especially Jack - which brings me to tears), and all of us are still getting used to the smattering of pink that now graces our home.

But, I can tell you. This little girl will never be short on love. Or protection. :)

I'll have more pictures and stories - but for now, we are savoring each of these new days with our girl - loving her, kissing her, holding her, and Jason and I are fielding lots of questions from her brothers. Oh, the questions...

And, we're asking many of our own.

Mainly...

How good is our God to bless us with such a precious and unexpected gift?