Spring is the perfect time to make a cake for a special occasion.
After many years of marriage we seem to have our ‘go to meals’ for the holidays. Our family loves a traditional Ham Dinner with Pineapple Stuffing and Baked Rigatoni & Cheese. An Italian tradition is Pepperoni Bread. I usually use the frozen bread (of course thawed) so that makes for one shortcut. I make everything up a day in advance so on Easter I can spend time with my family!
Last year I made Sweet Kat's Easter Egg Wreath & Rachael Ray's Italian Cheesecake Ricotta Pie. Check out these recipes below. Everyone loved them! My German grandmother gave me her Easter Cake Mold to me, so I love to make an Easter cake too.
Check out This Blessed Nest's Spring Fling for all things Spring!
Easter Dinner
Ham
Pepperoni Bread
Pineapple Stuffing
Rigatoni mac & cheese
Easter Egg Wreath Bread
Ricotta Pie
Pepperoni Bread -Let frozen dough thaw and rise.
Knead and roll thin with dusted flour.
Melt 4 T. butter. Spread on top of bread.
Layer sliced pepperoni and Am cheese on top.
Roll like jelly roll.
Brush mixture on top- 1 egg, 2 t. parsley, water, pepper and parmesan cheese.
Place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 350 degrees for 30 – 40 min.
Pineapple Stuffing
Cream 1 c. sugar and ½ c. butter
Add 3 eggs.
In a separate bowl 4 c. bread cubes and pour ½ c. milk & toss.
Combine the bread mixture in the butter mixture.
Mix all together then pineapple last.
1-20 oz. can crushed pineapple and juice.
Pour in 13 x 9 pan.
Bake 350 50 - 60 min.
Rigatoni Macaroni and Cheese
1 box Rigatoni-cooked
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 pt. sour cream
1 pt. mayonnaise
Mix all together then add 1 Quart of Milk.
Pour into 13 x 9 pan. (A larger pan makes for easier mixing)
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
Bake uncovered 350 45 min – 1 hour
Rachael Ray's Italian Ricotta Pie
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet.
Using an electric mixer, combine the ricotta, eggs, granulated sugar, orange peel and juice, cream and vanilla. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1½ hours. Turn off the oven and let the cake rest inside for 30 minutes. Let cool, then sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Italian Easter Egg Wreath from Sweet Kat’s Kitchen recipe here
I have been making these blown eggs for a long time. Put a pin hole at each end of a raw egg & blow out egg. Let dry. Glue lace around the egg & glue pearls in the shape of a cross. So simple!
My daughter in law's Easter tree last year!
I also love going to Easter Church Services.
Gardening in the Spring
I love flowers and cannot wait for warmer weather! Here are some ideas to get the garden ready. As you prepare your garden for spring, it is good to rake up all the leaves and cut back any perennials that need to be dead-headed. This makes way for new growth and gets sunshine to the base of the plants. We just raked up 18 bags of leaves. Glad we had help! Check out Spring Fling for other ideas for spring.
I use a stand for my peonies to help support them when they get tall and spindly. If you have a peony that hasn’t bloomed you may want to move it to a sunnier spot. I have 3 azaleas in the front yard (northern exposure) that are not doing well at all. I may have to find a sunny spot for them.
Before and after!
Peony
Last year we dug up many of our irises and divided them and replanted some of them. We must have had about 50 left over…I gave away some…but I still have some in the garage…they are purple and white, below. I look forward to seeing how they come back this year.
Clematis are tricky to grow bc you have to protect the root system with a ground cover. Also if you don’t cut them back, you will get new growth from all the old growth.
Before and after!
I brought my mandavilla (below) inside
and hibiscus (below) in for the winter.
It will be fun to see them bounce back. (saved about $30 each) I also brought in some geraniums in flower boxes in the garage. I’m waiting to see if they will survive or I’ll have to buy new ones. 7 –plants @ $4 a plant adds up…
We have already put down lime and halts on the grass to adjust the PH and to prevent crab grass. In the northeast zone we can’t put out annuals until May 15th…but until then I will be looking forward to crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and tulips.
I love to garden. Soon I will buy some new garden gloves, some Miracle Grow and Plant-tone. I also purchase vegetables and herbs. This year I want to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, Romaine, zucchini and yellow squash. A tip -we use newspaper and grass clipping on top for a ground cover around our vegetables to prevent weeds from growing up.
We also keep a Compost bin. We combine grass clippings, leaves, some dirt, compost starter fertilizer and water. It makes great nutritious decomposed matter for the garden. You can also add egg shells, coffee grounds and vegetable scraps. I also use Preen in the summer to cut back on weeds, but don't use near vegetables.
I start morning glories by seed. You need to nip the seed with a sharp knife and then soak the seeds in water overnight...they are tricky..sometimes I get 4 plants out of 50 seeds but it only takes that many to cover our fence!
Before and after!
Then before we know it Memorial Day will be upon us and it will be time to open the pool! Our local garden center is a great place to get your questions answered. I like supporting the local growers. Home Depot & Lowes are great, but we don’t want our small “Mom &Pops” to go out of business.
I am linking up to Spring Fling so check out all the great ideas for spring @ Spring Fling
Also here is my latest centerpiece for our trestle table. Dried lavender that smells lovely with a glass of red wine!
Cheers! Well happy gardening! Jennifer aka Gigi
PS Next week I’ll be posting some of our favorite Easter foods. Hint: Pepperoni Bread, Pineapple Stuffing, Baked Rigatoni & Cheese & Braided Easter Egg Bread!
Our kitchen above before the remodel. Spring is a great time to clean out cabinets and do some spring cleaning too. These pics have inspired me to declutter and get my kitchen ready for spring and summer! Nothing like hot water and lestoil! Before you know it, it will be time for Easter dinner and then pool parties this summer!
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