Easter Day!

I was trying out the timer on my camera for the first 2 pictures.

 MIL & me hanging out on the patio

 Sammy & I bundled up trying to stay warm.

Coloring Easter Eggs

I used the Martha Stewart recipe to cook our Easter eggs to dye.  My mom also used the same recipe & didn't have very good luck.  All her eggs were raw.  We had a good laugh over that one! My eggs were all cooked & we are most of them on Easter day.

Art & I always dye Easter eggs the weekend of Easter.  Art wanted to dye 4 dozen eggs. I only made 1 dozen.  He wasn't very happy he only got to dye 6 eggs. He likes to make all sorts of designs.  This year he grabbed a sharpie & got to work on making designs.

I made red, blue, purple & green color from food coloring, vinegar & hot water.  As you will see I am NOT happy with how the purple color turned out.  It doesn't look like purple at all!  I followed the directions on the box exactly to make purple....well it didn't work.

 HEY my egg isn't purple!!!

Ugh what in the world is this color? It looks like poop!

 Look at my face...NOT happy!



 Art was getting sick of pictures & not happy there weren't another 4 dozen eggs to color!

  

mmmmm deviled eggs!

Easter Menu

What is on your menu for Easter Sunday?

We are having the following:

Honey ham

Grandma's warm potato salad

Green bean casserole

Stuffing

Strawberry Salad

Rolls

Apple Crisp

Sausage Gravy & Cornbread!

While we were in Reno Art had a breakfast for lunch one day.  It was sausage gravy over biscuits, hash browns & eggs.  He asked why I don't ever make sausage gravy with biscuits. I didn't really have a response because I wasn't sure he liked it. I <3 it!!!!

Normally I make most of our meals from scratch....however....this one turned out all from packages.  I felt like a major cheater lol  It turned out screamin good!  Art loved it! He said next time your dad comes to town make this for him he will love it.

If you think this looks good it tasted AMAZING!

Here is what I used! This meal cost about $4 or 5 bucks!  We had left overs that Art is taking for lunch on Monday too.

Betty Crocker Cornbread Mix

 I use this cornbread mix all the time.  It's easy, yummy & you can get it on sale for $1. I made it in extra large muffin tin & I got 6 big muffins out of 2 packages. The directions say use 1/3 cup milk, 1 egg & 2 tablespoons of butter.  I didn't have any milk, so I used water.  I like it much better with water.  I felt the muffins came out very moist.

McCormick Country Gravy

I bought this package of gravy for around $1 at Food for Less. Super easy & delish! All you need is the packet & 2 cups of cold water! It takes about 5 minutes to make.

Jimmy Dean Regular Sausage

Food for Less has these on sale for $1.99.  We had some green onions we had grown in our garden that I chopped up & sauteed with the sausage. If you want to add a little kick to your sausage & gravy buy the hot sausage which is my very favorite.   

I made the muffins, threw them in the oven for 18 minutes, let them cool, started the sausage and when the sausage was almost done I started the gravy.  I made the gravy according to the directions & then added half the sausage to the gravy.  I saved the other half of the sausage to sprinkle over the top.  There you have it....sausage gravy with cornbread biscuits! I might just have to change my name to Betty Crocker!

Red Robin's Freckled Lemonade

Have you ever tried Red Robin's Freckled Lemonade?  It is one of our favorites! I love the chunks of strawberries in the lemonade.  My friend Krystal found the recipe on Food.com.  It is sooo yummy! I have already had 3 glasses this afternoon.  This is a great drink for those hot days! 

I also thought it was great to give kids.  I have issues with all those powdery sugary drinks you dump into a pitcher for kids.  What is in that powder really?  All those dyes & who knows what else are not good for you or your kids. Well this recipe you know exactly what you drinking and don't have to worry about hidden ingredients!

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

2 cups lemon juice, about 10 to 12 lemons

juice from 2 limes

1 bag of frozen strawberries (or fresh - about 1 quart)

2 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

8 cups cold water

1 cup simple syrup (Equal mix of sugar and water)

Preparation:

Prepare the simple syrup. In a small saucepan, add the 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.

In a medium bowl, add the frozen strawberries and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Muddle the strawberries with the back of a wooden spoon (or muddler) until slightly mushy.  I didn't have very good luck with the muddling.  I would put the strawberries in the food processor to chop them up.  It's hard to get a big chunk of strawberry through a straw.

Add the lemon and lime juice in the pitcher. Add 6 cups of water and the simple syrup. Add the muddled strawberries and stir well.

Serve over ice

 I asked Art if he wanted to try it & here is how my glass was returned....half gone!

Molly Moon's

O-M-G!!! The BEST ice cream EVER is at Molly Moon's.  My cousins picked me up from my hotel & took me to 2 amazing places.  First we went to a mexican restaurant & then we wanted ice cream.  Mary Kate found Molly Moon's on Yelp! They let us try any of the flavors were wanted.  I had the coconut chunk & salted caramel.  The salted caramel was sweet & salty, but not too over powering with the caramel taste.  I usually don't like caramel because it just is over powering to me....this was just perfect.  I was a little thirsty when I finished the salted caramel.

This place was just so cute & cozy!  If you are ever in the Seattle area you MUST try this amazing place out!

Wordless Wednesday!

First Starbucks Ever!

One of the must go to places in Seattle was Starbucks.  I wrote 2 papers in college on the founder of Starbucks, so I had to go to the place that started it all!  I first went to a Starbucks across the street from Pike Place. At first I thought that was the first Starbucks.  Then as I travelled down the street I realized that was just another Starbucks on the corner.  I found the first place & had to go inside.  There was a line out the door just to get inside.  I wasn't even sure what I was in line to see or buy.  I ended up buying a coffee mug!

It was very exciting to see where everything got started!  I love me some Starbucks!

Isn't it amazing how in just 40 years Starbucks has exploded across the World!!!!

This pig is made out of coffee beans.

Happy Birthday to my mom!!!!!

GRACIE!!!!!

While I was in Seattle I had the opportunity to meet another friend from the wedding board.  It was so great to meet the famous Grace!!!!  I love her blog Gracie Pie.  She is so incredibly sweet!  We talked for 2 hours about weddings, babies, California, buying a house, decorating a house & food. We had dinner at Peso Kitchen in Seattle. 

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

I love coloring Easter eggs.  Every year growing up we colored Easter eggs as a family.  It was one of my favorite traditions when we all gathered around the table, each person with their cup of color, eggs divided evenly, and the coloring began!  This year I am going to try Martha Stewart's recipe for Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs. 

Here are the instructions from Martha's website.

Ingredients

12 large eggs, room temperature

Directions

1.Place eggs in a large saucepan. Cover them with cool water by 1 inch. Slowly bring water to a boil over medium heat; when the water has reached a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit 12 minutes.

2.Transfer eggs to a colander; place under cool running water to stop the cooking. Eggs can be peeled and served immediately. Remaining eggs, with shells on, may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.