Easter Fun In The Mountain Sun

It didn't rain on our Easter. Thanks heavens!! This is one of the first Easters, since I have lived up here, that it hasn't been rainy, cold, and miserable.

We had a great Easter Sunday. Church service in the morning, then home to prep for our dinner. The girls had a fun Easter egg hunt, complete with sunshine and puppies running about.

Friends and family came over for a delicious dinner. It was a crazy busy day of baking, cleaning, Easter egg hunts, basketball playoffs, and cooking. 

I only got pictures of desserts. However, we did have a huge yummy turkey, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, deviled eggs, cabbage salad w/ celery seed dressing, turkey gravy, steamed green beans, wine, rolls....the whole enchilada.  For dessert there was homemade carrot cake, peach pie (served Ala mode), rice crispy treat shaped eggs, and chocolate chip cookies (Made with duck eggs. I highly recommend duck eggs for baking. Things seem to be more fluffy and much more moist). We like to go big around here. Plus we had a lot of people eating.

It was wonderful. To end the night we all play a game called Last Word. I couldn't have asked for a better time with family and friends! A good time was had by all.

Now on to the sweet stuff.

Carrot Cake
Original recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book
Adapted recipe & photos by SomethingDifferentForDinner

Preheat oven: 350 degrees F

4 eggs, beaten
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (sssh.. its a secret)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups finely shredded carrot
3/4 cup cooking oil

1. Allow eggs to reach room temperature. About 30 mins. sitting out. Grease your two round baking pans.
2. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
3. In another bowl combine eggs, carrot, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir until well combined. Pour batter into greased pans.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans, cool on wire racks.
5. Fill and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. If you want, like I did, put chopped walnuts, or pecans..on the sides of your cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

5 1/2 to 6 cups powdered sugar

In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed. Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.

Frost between your layers, top, and side of cake.

Iced w/ cream cheese frosting, topped with dyed green coconut, and around the side with chopped walnuts.

Peach Pie
Original recipe for pie & crust by Better Homes & Garden Cook Book
Adapted recipe and photos by SomethingDifferentForDinner

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (ssshh, its my secret spice)
6 cups peeled peaches
1 recipe for double crust pie (to follow)

Preheat oven 375 degrees F

For filling, in a large bowl stir together sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Add peaches.
Toss peaches until well coated. Let peach mixture stand for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Prepare and roll out pie crust. Line your pie pan with you pie dough.
Pour your peach mixture into pie pan,. Trim pie dough on bottom to edge of pie plate. If you are topping your pie with another crust or lattice top do that now.
 Place pie on baking sheet and put into oven
To prevent overbrowing, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Double-Crust Pie

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup softening
8-10 tablespoons cold water

In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. using a pastry cutter, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over part of the flour mixture; toss with fork. Repeat moistening flour mixture, until it is all moistened. Divide pastry in half; form halves into balls.

On lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten one ball of pastry. Roll it, with rolling pin, from center into a circle big enough to fit your pie pan. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching..it's hard to do.

With the other ball of pastry dough, I latticed the top. I rolled out my dough, cut it into 1/2 inch wide strips, and weaved the strips over my pie filling into a lattice pattern.  I had a little bit of extra dough, so I used a rabbit shaped cookie cutter, cut out the shaped and placed it on top.



Rice Crispy Treat Eggs

Original recipe from http://www.ricekrispies.com/
Adapted photos & recipe by SomethingDifferentForDinner

3 tablespoons  butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40)   regular marshmallows
6 cups   Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. When my mixture began to cool slightly, I formed the cereal into egg shapes, rolled them in sprinkles and placed them on wax paper to cool. Then I put them in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

4. Once hardened and cooled, I dipped some of them in melted white chocolate and added more sprinkles. When I was ready to serve them. I added sticks and they became eggs on a stick. You can't leave them on the stick for too long without them being eaten, because once the treats get warm again, they have a hard time holding onto the shape.

This is such an easy and creative treat. You could really do whatever you wanted with them.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the day.

Cheers *Kelly