we started the morning with an egg hunt, easter baskets, and a good helping of this…
here’s the delicioso recipe (it tastes better than it’s presentation leads on!)
cinnamon bread soufflé
line the bottom of a buttered, 1-qt. casserole dish with cinnamon bread cubes, about 2 layers/2 inches, which is about half the loaf. beat 5 large eggs, 1 1/2 c. half & half, and 1/2 cup maple syrup, then pour over the bread cubes. beat 1 package cream cheese (room temperature), 3 T. butter and 3 T. syrup until smooth and creamy. spread over top of bread and eggs (i found this is easier to do if i warmed up the cream cheese mixture a bit in the microwave… just a couple seconds!). dust with cinnamon and cover. refrigerate overnight.
in the morning, preheat oven to 350, uncover soufflé and bake 60 minutes, or until center is set. dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares. serve hot with maple syrup.
we then took our sugar-loaded kids to church…
do you like their matching ties? i am working on a quickie tutorial for how to make toddler/baby boy ties because cute ones are so hard to find! i made these out of one regular men’s tie which i dissected. i will show you how to do that, as well as how to make one out of fabric, and how to fold the top to make them easy and appropriate for the little people. coming soon!
to finish off our resurrection sunday, we had a pretty tasty din-din. i wish i had taken a picture, but alas, i forgot! the menu was basic and very do-able for a mother with more children than hands.
MOM- you gotta make the chicken dish for your next party! it’s super easy because you assemble everything the day before (and even that part is easy-cheese) and then an hour before you want it done you dump it into a dish and bake it! it is very flavorful and feels kinda fancy even though the chicken cost me a big $4! ha!
easter chicken, cranberry-pear salad, and almond poppy-seed muffins… from the glorious Krusteaz box!
easter chicken (formally called “passover chicken” but it’s my easter dish now!)
1 1/2 c. olive oil
1 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1 head of garlic, minced
1/4 c. dried oregano
2 c. dried apricots, halved
2 c. dried prunes, halved or quartered… your choice
1 c. spanish olives
6 bay leaves
1 c. white wine
1/2 c. brown sugar
salt and pepper
20 pieces of chicken, i used skin-on, bone-in thighs because the meat comes out very tender!
prep the chicken by cutting off excess skin and rinsing. mince the garlic using a food processor, and spread it under the skin of the chicken. season the chicken with salt and pepper as well. mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, except the wine and brown sugar. put the marinade and chicken in gallon size ziplock bags and refrigerate overnight. flip the bags a couple of times to marinate evenly.
preheat oven to 400º and dump to contents of ziplock bags into two 10 x 15 in. glass baking dishes. i made sure all the fruit was evenly mixed so every piece of chicken got some of the flavors. pour the white wine around the sides of the chicken and sprinkle brown sugar on top. bake for 1 hour, basting frequently. enjoy!!
cranberry-pear salad
dressing: 1/3 c. apricot nectar, 1/3 c. red wine vinegar, 1/3 c. canola oil, 2 t. dijon, 1/4 t. salt, 1/8 t. pepper
whisk dressing ingredients together, or throw them in a bottle and shake.
caramelized walnuts: melt 2 T sugar over medium heat, when liquid, add 1/2 c. chopped walnuts and stir.
salad: 12 c. mixed greens, 3 medium pears, sliced, 1/2 c. craisens, 3/4 c. crumbled blue cheese, caramelized walnuts, and dressing. toss and enjoy!
