Easter Dinner

While Peter Cottontail is hopping down the bunny trail, my family and I had an early Easter dinner on Sunday! We kept it very simple and easy, plus we moderated ourselves by keeping the number of different dishes to a minimum, since we all have some fitness goals in progress. Since we were not eating our meal until evening, I didn’t even begin to prepare anything until about 3:00 pm that day and we had dinner on the table by about 6:30 pm. The actual prep time (not including baking time) was about 30 minutes or so.

I don’t know about you, but for me that was record time! Usually I labor for many hours across at least two days preparing … but since we kept this one not only simple, but Tastefully Simple … it was both easy and delicious. Another bonus – we didn’t overeat! And I could get everything in my oven at one time. Yay!

Our menu was ham with a Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam glaze, green bean casserole and baked potatoes topped with Italian Garlic Bread butter. We chose not to have a bread because, between the casserole and potatoes, we had the carbs covered. (I struggled with this because of my intense love for bread, but surprisingly, I really didn’t miss it.) Dinner was wonderful and fulfilling!

Have a blessed Easter, and I hope the bunny brings some goodies to your Easter basket!

j*a*N*e

1. Glazed Ham
   Submitted by Sonya Wenker (OH)
   
2. Green Bean Casserole
   Submitted by Jenilee Peterson (IA)
   
3. Baked Potatoes – Bake as many as you need; top with prepared Italian Garlic Bread butter for serving.

• I purchased a pre-cooked, spiral cut ham (at a great price!) that just needed heating – which did take about two hours due to the size.
• I had to be a little careful when I applied the Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam, since it ran down the sides and into the bottom of the pan. I didn’t exactly have a flat surface on top of the ham, but it all worked fine.
• I put about ½ cup water in the bottom of my baking dish and covered the ham with foil before baking, to ensure my ham didn’t dry out. I removed the foil for the last 20 minutes or so.
• I added a little more of jam about half-way through the bake time (which will vary depending on your ham). In all, I used about ½ to 2/3 of the jar.
• In the photos, the ham looks a little blackened, but it really wasn’t … just nicely browned.
• Since the jam was mostly on the top of the ham, it imparted a subtle flavor, so I served the ham slices topped with a little extra jam. What a wonderful pairing!
• Next time I think I’ll blend the jam with a little Burger & Brat Mustard – I think that would create a nice sweet and savory glaze, and give it a little kick of extra flavor.
• Overall – we really liked the ham. I will definitely make it again!

Glazed ham made with Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam

• While there are a lot of ingredients for this recipe, it all came together very quickly.
• I mixed up the “sauce” first, then added two cans of green beans, and it seemed super saucy … so I added a third can of green beans. After it was baked, it was still plenty saucy, so next time I will either cut the sauce recipe in half or use four cans of green beans.
• I blended 2/3 cup of French-fried onions into the casserole and put another 2/3 cup on the top. Delicious (I love those greasy, salty onions)!
• I omitted the butter. This recipe already has quite a bit of fat, and I thought the butter was going a little further than I needed to. After tasting it, I think I was right … we didn’t miss the butter.
• I also cut way back on the Seasoned Salt with just a light sprinkling over the top with the onions.
• This casserole was easy to make and very flavorful!

Sauce for the Green Bean Casserole made with Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, Bacon Bacon and Seasoned Salt.

Green Bean Casserole

• Since the Green Bean Casserole was pretty rich, we decided to forgo a cheesy, sour creamy, buttery potato dish and chose a simple baked potato instead.
• I simply scrubbed the potatoes and baked them. At serving time, I cut them open and added a pat of Italian Garlic Bread butter. Easy and delicious!

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