**Easter Recipes** {4.7.2021}

April 7, 2021 / 6 Comments

Happy Wednesday!! We are still trekking through our Spring Break this week.

Today, I’m sharing some recipes that I made for some of our Easter gatherings. However, these would be delicious anytime. 

The first recipe is an easy pasta salad. 

****TriColor Pasta Salad****

 

Ingredients: 

TriColor Pasta 

Provolone cheese Slices

Mini Pepperoni

Feta Cheese

Sliced Olives (Drained)

Halved/Quartered Cherry Tomatoes (I omit these) 

Zesty Italian Dressing

 

Boil Pasta as directed on box. Drain and Allow to Cool. Cut Provolone Slices into smaller pieces. Once pasta is cool, add in Provolone, Pepperoni ( I use about 3/4 of the bag), Feta (I use about 1/2 of a container), Olives, and Tomatoes. Shake and Pour about 1/2 of the bottle of dressing. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours. I like to do it overnight. The next day, stir, I usually add a few more tablespoons of dressing. But I like mine with a lot. 😉 

 

This next recipe was new to me, but it was delicious! 

****Broccoli Cheese Casserole****

 

 
  1. Preheat oven to 350*F
  2. Place broccoli in a steaming basket on stove and steam for 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender to a fork. (I steamed mine in the microwave)
  3. Remove broccoli from stove and chop into bite sized pieces. Place into a medium size mixing bowl.
  4. Add to broccoli, soup, mayonnaise, butter, eggs, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well.
  5. Add 3/4 cup of cheese to broccoli mixture and mix well.
  6. Pour entire contents into an casserole baking dish.
  7. Top with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese and Ritz crackers.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is golden.

For one of my desserts, I made a strawberry shortcake cake. I made it a 9 inch pan because that’s all I have. However, it suggests making it in an 8 in ch pan. It probably would have worked out better. Recipe from Pioneer Woman. 

****Strawberry Shortcake Cake****

 
Cake
1 1/2 c. Flour
3 tbsp. Cornstarch
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
9 tbsp. Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 1/2 c. Sugar
3 whole Large Eggs
1/2 c. Sour Cream, Room Temperature
1 tsp. Vanilla
_____
Icing
1/2 lb. Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 lb. Powdered Sugar, Sifted
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 lb. Strawberries
 
IMPORTANT: Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.
Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly like my bottom. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

Stem strawberries and slice them in half from bottom to top. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.

Make icing: combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes, just to make icing easier.

Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.

Leave plain OR garnish with strawberry halves.

IMPORTANT: Cake is best when served slightly cool. The butter content in the icing will cause it to soften at room temperature. For best results, store in the fridge!

That’s it for today… Happy cooking!  

xo

6 Comments