Easter Lunch

I offered to make Easter dinner for my in laws for Easter, since we didn't have any plans, my step mother in law hates cooking with a fiery passion, and I actually enjoy it. We went over there since have more space for people and such, so I did my cooking over there, bringing what I needed with me.

I have been just so worn out this week with keeping busy with fun things with the kids and dividing cells, so I wanted an easy stress free menu, and I totally succeeded. I am quite pleased and would like to share what I made to feed 10 people that took me only two hours and didn't stress me out at all:

Spiral Sliced Ham
Au Gratin Potatoes
Sauteed Asparagus
Spinach Strawberry Salad
Rolls
Deviled Eggs (of course)
Chocolate Pie

Spiral Sliced Ham
For the ham, I got the Kroger spiral sliced fully cooked ham. I love this stuff! We didn't even heat it with the glaze today, just plain and it was wonderful. It's only $1.69/lb with the card, which is a great deal. My step mother in law usually buys the Honeybaked Ham Co stuff for $50-60 for a ham, and she preferred this ham over those.

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes from All Recipes
Prepared for 10 servings

• 10 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 3 onion, sliced into rings
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups milk
• 3-3/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.
2. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
4. Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.

I diced my onion and only used 2, and I took the foil off of the potatoes for the last 20 minutes or so of baking to let it brown on top. This made a large amount and was cooked in two casserole dishes.

Sauteed Asparagus
I just cut 2 lbs asparagus into two inch pieces and sauteed in about 2 TB of butter with 3 cloves minced garlic and salt and pepper (I would have used Olive Oil, but they didn't have any)

Spinach Strawberry Salad from cooks.com

1 lb. fresh spinach, washed & dried
1 pt. strawberries, washed & halved
1/2 c. pecan halves, toasted

Dressing

1/3 c. raspberry vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable or olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds

Combine dressing ingredients except the poppy seeds in a blender. Add the poppy seeds by hand. Toss dressing with spinach, strawberries and hot pecans. The hot nuts will slightly wilt the greens.

Oh goodness, this salad was GOOOOOOD!


Hope you all had a good Easter day!