A Little Something for the Easter Archives...

So it's a bit late (okay--alot late!) for this year, but I was given the yummiest Easter recipe the day before Easter, and it was so delightful, I just had to share it, along with another of my favorites for you to keep in your archives for next year.

The first recipe is for Easter Morning Rolls (don't they look delicious in that photo? My own photos didn't do the recipe justice). What is so fun about them is that after baking, you open them up and they are hollow and empty---just like the tomb was empty after Christ's resurrection. What a great object lesson for the kiddos. It's a wonderfully delicious recipe that you can put together the night before, then pop into the oven on Easter Morning. Ya gotta love those!

The recipe was given to me by my friend Sandee which she found at The Sisters' Cafe: a blog of five sisters that share their wealth of delicious-looking recipes! I can't wait to try more. Needless to say, these Easter Rolls were a hit at our house, and will be a new Easter tradition for our family. Click here to see the recipe and their yummy food photos!

The second recipe is one that my friend Lara gave me years ago called the Ultimate Conference Casserole. It's another make-the-night-before recipe that I love, (and sorry that I don't have a good photo to show you how enticing it is). Combined with the Easter Morning Rolls, our breakfast was simple and stress-free, yet so delicious and enjoyable for everyone. I hope you give them a try!

Ultimate Conference Casserole

16 oz. frozen shredded hash browns
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 lb. bacon
1/2 lb. ground sausage
1/4 c. green onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Substitutions: mushrooms, ham, chives, peppers, etc.

1. Brown sausage and cook bacon. Save drippings and sauté onions.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs and milk together.
3. Add potatoes, cheese, sausage, bacon, and onions
4. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 pan.
5. Refrigerate for the next morning's breakfast, or go straight to the oven.
6. Cook at 350 for 1 hour. Serve with ketchup or salsa if desired.

On a final Easter note, our family has a fun tradition that I remember enjoying as a child. Rather than festive Easter Egg Hunts out in the yard or mountains of candy mysteriously delivered by the Easter Bunny, I grew up with jelly bean hunts inside the house. I don't know why my mother began this tradition, but this is what I knew and loved. When she was still alive, she would always hide jelly beans in her house for my kids, which created a tradition that they looked forward to each Easter. So now, they ask every year when we are going to have the jelly bean hunt. I've expanded it to include peanut M & M's, Robin Eggs, and a myriad of additional Easter candy, but we never go a year without it. I think I'd have a mutiny on my hands if I did!


I simply hide the goodies in the nooks and crannies of our kitchen, living, and family rooms. The rules are that anything above your waist is fair game, except for the littlest people--they get to put anything in their baskets they can get their hands on! After a while, all candy is free game for everyone. Yes, my pillows and cushions get knocked off the couches, and picture frames and books get nudged out of place during the frenzy, but it's all pretty innocuous and delightfully fun.


And inevitably at some point in the year when someone does some REALLY good dusting, or pulls a book off of a shelf, or searches through the piano bench for a particular book, they are rewarded with a treat or two that was overlooked at Easter {eew}.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your families! What Easter traditions did you enjoy?