Berry Pretzel Pan

Pictures: Berry Pretzel Pan with strawberry Jell-O & frozen garden strawberries!

Original recipe from My Baking Addiction. 

*Note that while prep work is minimal, a few hours of "setting" time is needed before this recipe is finished!

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c pretzels, blended fine (4-5 c whole)
• 1/2 c butter, melted
• 3 T sugar

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 blocks cream cheese (16 total oz)
• 1 c sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 8 oz whipped cream

Topping Ingredients:

• 6 oz berry Jell-O of choice
• 2 c boiling water
• 16 oz (3-4 c diced) frozen berries or fruit of choice 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Crush pretzels in a gallon bag using a marble rolling pin or tin can of food, or using a food processor. Pour into a 9x13 pan a mix with melted butter and 3 T sugar. Press into a flat layer across bottom of pan. Bake 10 min. Cool completely (~30 minutes). 
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy. Fold in whipped cream. Spread evenly over crust, refrigerate until set (~1 hour).
3. Hand whisk Jell-O powder with boiling water until well dissolved (~2 min). *Using a machine whisker here will result in a frothy top, as pictured above. 😉 Mix in frozen berries until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture and refrigerate until set (at least 1 hour). 

Apple Dumplings

Baked appelbollen from our homeschool visit to the "Netherlands."

This yummy dessert is known in Dutch as "Appelbollen." Original recipe from Norine's Nest.

Ingredients:

• 3 T softened butter
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 c finely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/2 recipe pie dough
• 6 small apples, peeled and cored 
• optional ice cream for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425* F.
2. In a small bowl: mix butter, sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts together.
3. Cut pie dough into 6 equal portions. Lightly flour a surface and roll dough into a circle. Place peeled & cored apple in center. 
4. Spoon sugar mixture into the core of each apple, stuffing it in until all used up.
5. Fold dough around apple, decorating the top with stamps of leaves, letters, etc. 
6. Bake on a cookie sheet at 425* for 15 min, turn heat down to 350* and bake 15 min more. 
7. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Rice Crispy Treats!

 

Pictured: Easter krispies dotted with rainbow marshies

Original recipe from Kellogg's.

Ingredients:

• 4 T butter
• 10 oz marshmallows
• 1 t vanilla
• 6 c cereal like Rice Krispie's, Cocoa Krispies, or even popcorn
• optional mix-ins of choice like marshmallows (colorful ones for Easter!), red hots, sprinkles, choc chips, etc.
• optional food coloring (green makes a great monster dessert at Halloween)

Directions:

1. Generously butter a 9x13 pan. Set aside.
2. In a large pan over low heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows, stirring occasionally until completely melted.
3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Add cereal and mix quickly. Fold in optional mix-ins, or reserve and place them on top.
4. Spread into a 9x13 pan and let cool 1 hour. Cut into bit-sized, bars, or other fun shapes and enjoy!
5. Also try Peanut Butter Scotcheroos.

Deep Dish Baked Zucchini

 

Pictured: deep dish zucchini served with quinoa. 

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini,* cut into 1" rounds (About 8-10 rounds. De-seed if necessary.)
• 1/2 recipe tomato lentils or marinara sauce
• 1 c shredded cheese or to taste
• 1/4 c breadcrumbs or to taste
• cooked quinoa, rice, or other grain to serve with, optional
• fried eggs per person, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly spray 9x13 pan with oil.
2. Lay zucchini rounds flat side down in pan. Pour tomato lentils or marinara sauce to cover zucchini. Cover tightly with foil and bake until zucchini is soft, about 40 min.
3. Remove foil covering and sprinkle cheese and bread crumbs over top. Set oven to low broil for 1-3 minutes. Watch carefully so as not to burn!
4. Serve each zucchini round with an optional fried egg on top. Enjoy!

*Zucchini can be sliced and frozen in rounds until ready to use! Simply thaw beforehand, or add to the final baking time.

Divinity (AKA bunny tails)

Pictured: maple nut divinity with pecans.

Original recipe from Mom and House of Nash Eats.

Yield: 25 large or 50 small puffs

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sugar
• 1 c corn syrup
• 1 c water
• 4 egg whites
• ⅛ t salt
• 2 t vanilla
• optional: ~5 drops food coloring to taste
• opt: ~5 drops additional flavoring to taste
• opt: 2 cups chopped walnuts and/or pecans

Directions:

1. In a 2 quart pan over medium heat, bring sugar, syrup, and water to a boil. Insert candy thermometer.
2. Line 2 trays with wax paper.
3. When syrup reaches 225* whip eggs whites and salt until stiff peaks form.
4. When syrup reaches 260* remove from heat and slowly pour it into beaten eggs, whipping at top speed. It will take 1-2 minutes to pour it all in.
5. Add vanilla and optional flavor and coloring, and continue whipping on high until mixture loses its sheen and begins to hold shape, about 6-8 minutes AFTER everything is combined. Fold in optional nuts.
6. Drop by dollop on the wax paper. Let cool about 30 minutes, then store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Favorite Variations:

• watermelon flavor + pink or green coloring
• strawberry or raspberry flavor + pink or purple coloring
• ½ t maple flavor + chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or peanuts are great)

Italian Gnocchi

Pictured: gnocchi topped with broccoli alfredo sauce

Original recipe from a Good and Beautiful homeschooling book.

Ingredients 

• 2 eggs
• 1 c mashed potatoes or white bean puree
• 1 t salt
• 1 c cottage cheese 
• 2 T soft butter
• 3 c flour 
• red sauce or alfredo sauce or parmesan cheese to taste

Directions 

1. In a large pan over high heat, bring 6-8 cups of water to boil. 
2. As it heats, mix all ingredients but last 2 in a large mixing bowl. Add flour one cup at a time. 
3. Separate into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope. Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces.
4. Drop pieces into boiling water, scooping out with a slotted spoon when they float to the top. 
5. Serve with cheese, sauce, or plain. Enjoy!

Easter Tree with Blown Eggs

This Easter craft it a little more involved! We like using our blown eggs (especially the different sizes that come from a poultry variety!) to create an Easter tree like the one in Tasha Tudor's A Time to Keep. 

Ingredients:

• washed eggs (of assorted sizes if you're lucky!)
• small screw drivers, largish nails, or meat thermometers per person (for shell-drilling)
• plate per person
• bowl(s) for collecting innards (use these in popovers, quiche, or scramble)
• bowl for collecting hollow shells
• a branch for your "tree"

Directions:

1. While holding the egg on the plate, carefully tap the top of your egg until a hole forms. The bigger the opening, the easier to remove the insides. Turn the egg over and repeat, so it is punctured on both ends. Using your tool, mix up the insides so they will more easily blow out. 
2. Now for the gross part. Lean over the "egg collecting" bowl. Wipe the top of the egg with a clean cloth, seal your lips over the hole, and blow hard! The innards will burst into the bowl, leaving you with an empty shell. Repeat these steps with each egg.
3. Leave overnight to airdry, or continue to step 4 to speed dry them.
4. Preheat oven to 200. Rinse empty shells, blowing them once more to get the water out. 
5. Place empty shells on cookie sheet and bake 20 min, or until dry. 
6. Paint them!
7. Set up your "tree" by stabilizing the branch in a vase or jar using rocks or marbles. Alternatively,  hang them sporadically from your ceiling.  
   
8. To hang the eggs, we clip a string ~8 inches long and tie one end to a small twig. Lace the other end through the egg, then tie it onto a branch. Voila! House of Joyful Noise also has some helpful suggestions for this step. Enjoy! 

He Is Risen! He is Risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice!

The Easter story is a joyous one of triumph and perseverance--it merits an entire season of celebration! However, the implementation of that is a complicated one. Why?

1. Easter is a moveable feast! It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. In our Gregorian calendar, it is always observed on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This means that while Christmas season has a predictable start date, Easter Season will be different every year. It also means that unlike the long, slow indoor days attended by Christmas, Easter comes with an outdoorsy itch of lengthening days and welcoming weather. There is little room in the Easter season for the kind of hearth-warmed traditions that give Christmas its reflective flavor.
2. There are several events that call on our attention before or around Easter Sunday. If Easter occurs in March, it may be contesting with St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Passover, a meaningful celebration leading up to Easter, may fall before or after Easter Sunday (because, for Christians, the meaning of Passover is heavily associated with Easter, we often choose to celebrate a Passover-type dinner the Friday before Easter regardless of its official date that year). April Fool's Day tricks, General Conference plans, spring break vacations, and Fast Sunday observation, are all moveable parts of this celebration season. Even events as small as Doctor's Day, the Restoration of the Gospel, or the birthdays of Dr. Suess (anyone else observe that with a week of dress-up days at school?), J.S. Bach, or birthdays of your own may be brought into account when making celebration plans (like grocery-shopping...activity spacing...company planning...). For an involved family, springtime life is simmering with activity! 

Still, Easter has remained my favorite holiday for years. Is there any more fitting time to celebrate the Life of the World than this season of new life, fresh starts, and the resurrection of summer promise? Our holy attention to this holiday will deepen our experience of the Easter message and the daily way we live out our hope.

There are a million ideas to celebrate a meaningful Easter. Take a quiet moment to decide how you want to experience it, and what you want your family to experience. Your own traditions will unfold over time, and they will change as ages change. Across the years, our Resurrection Celebrations have taken on a flavor of their own. Here are some ways Easter has become more savory to us.

Easter Season

Music. Besides fun spring songs or sacred music we play on Spotify, I favor making music of our own. I love to hear my children sing, probably far more than they love to do it! However, they are obliging enough to learn a new song when I sit them down and officially teach them (especially where bribes are involved). About a month before Easter, I often get the itch to share an Easter hymn in this way with them. One year, we learned All Things Bright and Beautiful and they each "drew" a verse to prompt memorization. Another year we learned All Creatures of our God and King by writing each verse on the whiteboard and erasing words one by one until we could say it all by heart. This year, we used a YouTube video with lyrics to learn Amazing Grace. Once everyone is dressed on Easter morning, it has become a tradition to sit the kids down and film them singing. A sweet by-product of this practice is the spontaneous solos (or duets, or choirs!) that break out around the house in the days around Easter. 

Scripture. Cool ideas for scripture studies are things like Lent (what is Lent?), Holy Week, snippets from Christ's life, snippets from other Bible lives, or verses from the Book of Mormon to augment the holiday. One year we studied a name of Christ each day and hung up a picture of Him representing that name. Another year we did a 30-day Walk with Christ. I truly believe that it doesn't matter what you pick so much as that you pick something from scripture to study as a family. You know your family's spiritual dietary needs and abilities (one verse a day may be plenty, or maybe it's the perfect time for a new challenge?). If your leaders, parents, or local church community are suggesting something specific (and you don't already have your own plan), I've found that to be a unifying choice. 

Picture Books. Nothing says spring like stories about baby animals, garden seeds, pouring rain, or historical Easter traditions. Everything that happens in spring is a celebration of new life, which is the message of the resurrection! Choose fun spring books to buy or put on hold at the library (if you have a Biblioguides account, this is the perfect use for it!). Don't forget to check YouTube for read-aloud versions of books you can't find in hard copy. Rotate through them in the weeks leading up to Easter, or keep them all on your coffee table during Easter season. Aim to read (or have the big kids read to the youngers (bribes here? )) 1-3 books a day. 

Art & Activities. Egg blowing, egg dyeing, and crafting colorful decor are whimsies of mine, so we prioritize creative time for these things. I find afternoons or evenings to be our best fit, often with themed music (like our fun spring playlist, Handel's Messiah, or Rob Gardner's Lamb of God depending on your mood) or an audiobook playing in the background. We have twine hanging across our banister and dining room windows with clothespins for displaying our current crafts. These projects will vary depending on the ages involved, so here are my suggestions:

• Younger elementary ages and preschoolers do well with pre-cut crafts in your selection of pastel colors. These can be for touch and play or for display.
• giant paper egg
• big country bunnies
• peek-a-boo chick
• egg dyeing
• story wheel
• stick puppets
• This Celebrating Easter page has a few other good ideas.
• Older elementary & teens can be more helpful, more intuitive, and more interested in a project with a challenge. 
• egg blowing 
• Make sugar cookies in the shape of eggs to decorate. 
• Make coconut cookies or cupcakes that look like a nest, placing m&ms or egg candies in the center.
• Make quiche, popovers, or egg salad out of all those decorated eggs
• Set up and explore Stations of the Cross

Easter Sunday

Morning walk. Call it a sunrise walk if you're that adventurous (and make sure you pick a gorgeous place to see it happen!), or just gather your family sometime around breakfast for some moments outdoors. Even in cold and cloudy weather, this can be a powerfully rejuvenating experience! We sing the song we've been learning together. I like to bring a hymnal (or my phone) and sing lots of songs of praise as we walk (that's usually a solo--my family are good to abide it). Even 5 minutes of this activity starts our day off in a wonderfully grateful attitude. 

Sunday worship. We relish the unifying joy of Sunday services with our church community, especially taking the Sacrament. 

Easter Foods. Favorites for the dinner menu: Eggs in a Nest or Quiche, hot cross buns, roasted veggies (especially asparagus). Dessert is best kept small, as plenty of sugar already accompanies the day. Still, who can oppose a carrot cake on Easter?

Easter Colors Poem. Inspired by this picture book when our oldest was small, I wrote our own poem about color symbolism and created an activity to go with it. More on that later.

Video. When it seems to be about the time the Easter bunny is likely to arrive, we gather the kids somewhere to watch an Easter movie. The Lamb of God (1992 film, 27 min) is a favorite, but there are many great short films to choose from as well. We also like using this opportunity to watch one of our favorite versions of the Hallelujah Chorus. During the movie, the magic happens...

Easter Egg Hunt! We have a few favorite Easter treats that show up year after year (don't forget to include a stash of the adults' top picks!). We aim for about 15 eggs per kid, plus a few giant eggs with treats to share. Staple candy:

• Cadbury caramel eggs
• bagged homemade Reeses
• Peeps of assorted colors
• jelly beans
• rice crispy bites made with colorful marshmallow bits 

Sometimes the bunny throws in a fun seasonal treasure for each, such as 

• binoculars
• umbrellas
• bug catching nets
• books
• gift cards

Our Springtime To-Do List

1. In January, note the dates for Easter, Ash Wednesday, and Passover and mark those dates in the calendar. Also mark "planning" dates for each holiday. 
2. When the time comes, plan menus for Easter, Passover, Conference, April Fool's, and other noteworthy meals. Shop for groceries and egg fillers (including small gifts if applicable). Prep and freeze whatever can be made ahead! 
3. Attach song practice with one meal everyday. 
4. Plan to set aside needed scripture study time, if plans vary from your usual schedule. 
5. Plan Easter clothing.
6. Check out picture books.
7. Set aside time to craft or bake together. 

No matter the rush of life around us, we can exist in a stillness of heart that is truly the best gift we can give to ourselves, our families, and our Savior during this victorious celebration. May your Easter be a blessed one! Instagram:  #easterwiththePruitts

This post is shared as part of my life's endeavors I wish to document.