Easter side dish

[heart_changed99]

My MIL always cooks Easter dinner, and I want to contribute something. She doing a Ham, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, broccoli casserole, and I am not sure about the rest.

I thought about doing a green bean casserole, but I can't really find a good recipe that I would like to try. I'm the type of person, I like to try make things that other people haven't tried. Any suggestions? What are you having for Easter dinner?

[Marie_M]

How about doing a scalloped or au gratin potato dish? Mashed potatoes can get a little boring sometimes, so this would give everyone another potato option. Here's my recipe:


Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin circles
2 medium onions, finely diced
5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Layer potatoes and onions in a lightly buttered casserole dish.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; whisk in flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until smooth.

3. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly; bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.

4. Pour milk sauce over potatoes and onions and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender.

5. Remove from oven; sprinkle cheddar cheese and bacon over top of casserole; place back into oven until cheese is bubbly and melted.

Makes 4 servings.

[icebear]

or even mashed sweet potatoes....

[Jennie]

For Christmas and Easter I always make sweet potatoes just lightly layered with butter and brown sugar (they're not too sweet like candied, just a little). I pick about 6 nice sized sweet potatoes and boil them, skin on, until tender with a fork, about 20-30 minutes (you have to keep checking). Then I take them out and peel off the skin, it comes off easily after boiling but they are hot right after so be careful. Then I cut them into about 1/2-1 inch piece rounds and layer them with pieces of butter and sprinkles of brown sugar, usually get 2-3 layer. On the very top I put butter chunks and brown sugar and a few mini marshmallows (mainly for the kids, they love it).

Again it's not candied, those are too sweet for me, this really just has a nice taste and you could make it sweeter if you wanted to but it's a good savory dish and everyone loves it :) The best part is that it's easy to do!

[Lynn]

[QUOTE
I thought about doing a green bean casserole, but I can't really find a good recipe that I would like to try. I'm the type of person, I like to try make things that other people haven't tried. Any suggestions? What are you having for Easter dinner?[/QUOTE]


There is a good recipe for green bean casserole on the back of the can of French's Onion Rings, located in the canned vegetable aisle. It only requires cans of green beans, a can of mushroom soup, seasonings, and the canned onion rings. It's very easy and delicious.

[icebear]

my aunt makes a nice broccoli salad thats a lot like this:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broccoli-Salad-I-2/Detail.aspx

it is really yummy... i usually pick out the raisins though :aha

[Galoutofdixie]

Cole Slaw is always good, so is a fruit salad.

The cole slaw is easy. I like to use a mixture of red and green cabbage, but it's not necessary. To make it even easier I use the bagged pre-shredded cabbage. I also like to add a diced apple. Some folks like raisons.

Cabbage
1 diced apple
1/2 diced lg. onion
Mayonaise
Sugar
Lemon juice
Carraway seeds (optional)
Celery seeds (optional)

I put the cabbage in a large bowl. Add the diced onion and apple. Sprinkle lightly with celery seed and carraway seeds. Mix together.

In another small bowl I add the mayo, juice of lemon and enough sugar to taste the way I like it. Some like it sweeter than others, so it's up to you. ( i don't have a measurement for the mayo because it just depends on how wet you like your cole slaw, or how much cabbage you are using. I think for 1 bag of pre-shredded cabbage I use about 1 cup mayo and the juice of half a lemon?)

I then mix up the mayo, sugar, lemon juice mixture until it's creamy and all the sugar is blended in and desolved.

Then I pour it over the cabbage a little at a time and mix it all up until it's the consistancy that I like it. Then I sprinkle with a little paprika.

[Biblenuggetlady]

I don't see the bread listed. You could bring the bread, and one with a message. :) Take unleavened bread (no leaven as leaven represents sin) Matzah, it is more like a cracker, you'll find them in the Kosher section. You place 3 pieces stacked at the table, with the middle one wrapped in a white linen napkin. The Matzah are pierced and striped during preparation-so you will remind people that Jesus was pierced and striped for us. The head of the table will break the bread in the linen cloth, take out half and leave the other piece in the cloth. The 3 breads represent the Trinity; God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Ghost. God the son is represented in the the middle bread, and it is then broken and wrapped in linen just as Jesus was. Remind everyone, that Jesus broke the bread and gave it to his disciples at the last supper. If you have children at your gathering, the linen wrapped broken bread that remains is hidden and they have to go search for it...this represents the searching of the tomb when Jesus had risen and was not found. When the child finds the linen and bread, he holds it ransom and is given a prize for finding it-Jewish custom is "silver" as Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. (Use nickels, dimes or quarters). In many Jewish homes, the "finder" received a very large sum check, like $200 to $3000 in some testimonies I've read, but you could give them a Children's Bible or something like that. :thumb

[MochaMel]

or even mashed sweet potatoes....

I was thinking of doing that too! Don't forget the marshmallows.. Mmmm good.:)

[yogi3939]

Nothing says spring is here like a great potato salad. I have a really good recipe I got from a restaurant in South Elgin Illinois. It is a little work but well worth it. Everybody in my family INSISTS that I make it at least once a year for them.

Yogi's famous potato salad

INGREDIENTS

5 to 10 lbs clean medium to large red potatoes boiled in skins, cooled, peeled, and cubed

1 medium yellow onion (1/2 for 5lbs all for 10 lbs) diced medium fine

1 thick ham steak browned in skillet in bacon drippings and shredded aprox 1/2" chunks

1-1/2 lbs (1 pkg) West Virginia brand thick sliced bacon cut into 1" pieces and fried til medium crisp and drained

1 jar Vlasik Zesty bread and butter pickle chips drained and diced to aprox 3/8" square.

4 to 6 spears celery washed and diced

1 to 1-1/2 doz eggs hard boiled and cut into quarters

DRESSING

1 qt jar Miracle Whip

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 to 2 cups whole milk depending on consistency you like dressing.

Put Miracle Whip in a bowl large enough to whisk in the mustard and milk. Add one cup of milk and whisk until smooth. Then add some or all the second cup and keep whisking til you reach the right consistency. Remember, the potatoes are going to absorb some of the liquid so make it a little thinner than you want the final consistency to be.

GARNISH (optional)

red, green, and/or yellow sweet peppers cut into rings and/or strips

green onion trees (trimmed and slit lengthwise at green end)

hard boiled egg slices

paprika

celery sticks

lemon, lime, and/or orange zest strips

colored salt (made the same way as colored sugar)

Use any or all or add something of your own to dress it up.

DIRECTIONS

How coarse you chop,dice, and cube the ingredients is a matter of personal taste. However, I have found that most people like this potato salad better if the ingredients are kept to the large side. Especially the potatoes, they should be at least 3/4" to 1" cubes.

Use a really large mixing bowl and layer the ingredients in the following order. Put the potatoes on the bottom. Then add all the dry diced ingredients except the eggs. Then put the bacon and ham on top. Finally add the pickles and pour on half the dressing mix and add the eggs.

Start mixing with a large wooden spoon by going down the edge of the bowl under the ingredients and lifting. As soon as the first half of the dressing and the finer ingredients disapear under the potatoes add the rest of the dressing and continue mixing by going under and lifting until propperly mixed. Do not stir in the normal way as you will break up the eggs and potatoes.

The final step is to put the salad in a serving bowl and garnish if you wish.

Well, the actual final step is to eat and enjoy.

YOGI