The days are truly running together over here, because Holy Week somehow managed to sneak up on me. I still like to put together small Easter baskets for our teenagers, so the next time I’m at the grocery store I’ll pick up a few treats for those.
Today I’m sharing a menu for Easter dinner for four, along with a shopping list. I’m also going to share a few options if you’d like to cook a more elaborate meal. If you have time on your hands or have kids who like to help in the kitchen, this is a great week to make strawberry jam (strawberries are in season right now) and homemade mustard, so I’ll include links to those recipes as well. You can even drop off a jar or two to friends since both recipes make enough to share.
Easy Easter Dinner for Four
- Spiral ham with store-bought mustard
- Green beans with carmelized onions
- Purchased yeast rolls with store-bought strawberry jam
- Roasted tri-color potatoes
- Pineapple Fluff
Ham: Bake according the instructions on the tag; the ones I buy usually have a packet of honey seasoning but there are plenty of homemade recipes out there, too.
Green beans: Cook in the microwave or on the stove top. Meanwhile, slice an onion and cook it in a skillet over low heat in about 2T of olive oil. Cook 10-20 minutes until browned. Drain the green beans and toss them over medium heat with the onions, adding another drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Potatoes: The potatoes get sliced in half, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted at 400° for 30-40 minutes until browned.
“Elaborate” Easter Dinner for Four
- Spiral ham with homemade mustard (recipe below; free printable Easter tags are here)
- Green bean casserole (I use 1 lb frozen green beans in this recipe)
- From-scratch yeast rolls (recipe below) with homemade strawberry freezer jam (recipe below; get my free printable jam tags here)
- Scalloped potatoes
- Pineapple fluff
Sharp Mustard
This is my aunt's easy and delicious mustard recipe. It tastes great with ham or on sandwiches, and makes enough to share.
Ingredients
- 3.5 ounces dry mustard (I like Colman's)
- 1 c apple cider vinegar
- 1 c sugar
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1-1/2 c mayonnaise
- 1 Egg
Instructions
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Combine the dry mustard and vinegar in a bowl and let sit for 8-12 hours (I'll usually do this before bed and then make the mustard the next morning).
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Beat the egg off heat in a medium saucepan and then add the sugar, salt, and mustard/vinegar mixture.
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Cook over medium heat until thickened, remove from heat and let sit until cool.
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Stir in the mayonnaise and mix until smooth (I prefer a wire whisk to remove lumps).
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Pour into jars and refrigerate.
Delicious and Easy Yeast Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 packages rapid rise yeast
- 1 c warm water
- 1 c shortening
- 3/4 c sugar
- 1 c boiling water
- 1 t salt
- 2 eggs
- 5 c unsifted flour
Instructions
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Dissolve yeast in 1 c warm water and set aside.
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Using a mixer with paddle attachment, cream together shortening and sugar. Add boiling water and mix until melted. Add salt and eggs (one at a time) and dissolved yeast. Then add unsifted flour, 1/2 c at a time.
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Place in a well-greased bowl and cover. Refrigerate overnight. Take out half of dough and knead about 100 times on a well-floured board. Roll out, cut into small pieces, and place into greased pan. Repeat with other half of dough. Let rise 4 hours.
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Bake at 425° for 11-15 minutes (ovens may vary so watch carefully!). Serve immediately or wrap in foil and reheat at 350° for five minutes before serving.
Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam
This recipe is easier to make than cooked jam and I prefer the taste. Store in the freezer until ready to eat, then keep in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 2 c crushed strawberries buy 1 qt ripe strawberries
- 4 c sugar
- 1 box Sure-Jell fruit pectin
- 3/4 c water
Instructions
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Rinse 5 (1-cup) plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Remove and discard strawberry stems. Crush strawberries thoroughly, 1 cup at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
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Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until most the sugar is dissolved. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
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Fill containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. (If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.)
This menu really isn’t that elaborate, and obviously you can mix and match any combination of the two menus (just be sure to update your shopping lists accordingly.)
Need more Easter inspiration? We’ve got you covered with lots of great ideas; just visit our Easter archives {here}.
Sounds fabulous. I have had a turkey in the freezer for a couple months, so I think we will have that. Time to get it out to thaw and create a fabulous meal for two with tons of leftovers.
I feel the same way about ham and the resulting leftovers. That turkey should give you two a couple of weeks of meals!
Happy early Easter, Marty!
Christy
Greetings Christy~ Although hubby does the cooking, I’m usually his assistant when we are hosting his family (not this year), and yet I am the dessert maker! And so looking forward to making this pineapple fluff because I LOVE all of these ingredients!!
HAPPY EASTER to you/family!!!!!!!!!! Elbow hugs!!
The pineapple fluff reminds me of Watergate salad, with the pistachio pudding, and so I feel like it’s mostly dessert but also kind of a side dish. And aren’t you lucky that your husband cooks so that you’re freed up to create your yummy desserts?!
Happy early Easter, Julie!
Christy
I’m having difficulty navigating your site. I can only see the days posting. I cannot go back to look at previous days. I used to be able to touch your logo to see the latest posts. Now I can only see one day. It is frustrating.
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having trouble, Joanie. I’ll ask our web developer to link the header image to the main home page the next time she’s working on technical stuff. In the meantime, if you’re accessing our site on a laptop, clicking the black “home” icon at the top left of our menu bar (the menu bar is the strip of pink at the top of every page) to take you to our home page, where you’ll see our most recent posts. If you’re on mobile, click the “hamburger menu” (the three black lines in the pink stripe at the top of the page) and click on the black “home” icon to get to the home page.
I hope that helps! Christy
For the mustard recipe, the instructions indicate egg and mayo, but I don’t see them in the list of ingredients. How much of each? It sounds so good that I’d love to make this!
Sorry about that, Jennifer! It should read correctly now. I hope you enjoy it!
Christy