Easter Sunday Dinner and Decorating Ideas

Easter Sunday is a wonderful holiday to celebrate with your family. We normally have a huge family dinner and then hide eggs for the children in the family to hunt. The dinner is always a great feast with a variety of foods. If you are planning a great Easter dinner too, the following recipes might be a great help.

If your family is like ours, then you like ham. There is nothing better than a spiral sliced ham that has been glazed with pineapple juice and brown sugar. This is very easy to do because all you do is place you ham on a pan that has aluminum foil draped in it. You will make it come up around the ham so the juices do not spill; instead they stay inside the ham making it nice and moist. Then take toothpicks and put pineapple slices over the ham, however you want. Then you will drizzle the pineapple juice over the ham. Finally sprinkle brown sugar over the ham. You can do as little or as much as you desire. Personally I think the more brown sugar you put the better the ham tastes. Cover the ham the rest of the way with aluminum foil and then heat for how long you normally do. This is a very easy entrée for you Easter Sunday dinner.

There are many side dishes that we have because we tell everyone to bring a dish; this will save you both money and time. Green bean casserole is a family favorite that is very easy to make. You need to drain your green beans and put them in a casserole dish. Next you need to put cream of mushroom soup on top of the green beans. Finally you will put French fried onions on top of the casserole. Put it in the oven and let it warm up. Now you are all done.

Baked beans are another easy thing you can make with little time on hand. In a skillet, brown bacon until it is crisp. Over the skillet crumble the bacon into little pieces. Leave a little grease in the pan, so you can sauté a chopped medium sized onion. After the onion is cooked, you will need to drain a few cans of pork & beans. After doing this put them in the skillet also. You will then add mustard and brown sugar to your taste. Let the baked beans simmer for approximately ten to fifteen minutes. This is a quick recipe that does not have to be heated in the oven.

For dessert I usually make a fancy cake. One easy cake is to purchase a regular cake mix and bake according to the directions on the box in two nine inch pans. After they are cooled, assemble like you normally would by icing in-between the layers. After that ice the sides with yellow, pink or blue frosting. You can make basket weave on the sides for a cuter look, if you wish. Then use a grass hair tip and make the top of the cake look like grass with green icing. Make a pretty border around the edges with the same color of your basket or a different one if you like. Next place Peeps chicks and malted milk eggs in the center. Next make a basket handle out of anything that is flexible enough to bend, but not so stiff it pulls the cake apart. Insert it into the cake and you have a basket cake with chicks and eggs.

You may want to have an Easter Sunday breakfast also. If you do, here are a few ideas just for you.

If your family likes pancakes, you can make them a special treat quite easily. All you need is pancake mix and Easter related metal cookie cutters. Prepare the pancake mix like normal and then lay the desired cutter into the pan. Pour your batter into the cutter and cook like you normally would. Remove the cutter when you are ready to turn the pancake over and flip. If you make egg shapes you can write with whipped topping, or use syrup to decorate them.

If you prefer eggs you can also use the same idea above, with the exception of decorating them.

Some snack suggestions for Easter Sunday follow.

If there are going to be children, you might need snacks. You can always put out a tray of fresh veggies with some dip and tell the children that they are eating what the Easter bunny does.

Another suggestion is to make sugar cookies and use Easter related cutters and then decorate them ahead of time with the kids. This is a project that they will enjoy making, just as much as they will enjoy eating.

A few drink ideas for Easter Sunday are included next.

I would make a bright punch to coordinate with all the colors of Easter Sunday. You can make an easy punch by combining sherbet of any flavor with a large can of pineapple juice and a 2 liter of 7-up or Sprite and another 2 liter bottle of ginger ale. If you want, you can also add a can of crushed pineapple.

Another drink idea is to buy juice mixes that have carrots in them, such as Juicy Juice's Harvest Surprise or V8 Splash. Each tastes great and is also very good for you because they are packed full of vitamins and nutrients.

You can use a variety of items to decorate your dinner table. Use brightly colored flower pots, which you can paint yourself, and fill them with Easter grass. Then put egg shaped candies in them. This is an easy and inexpensive centerpiece you can use.

Another idea is to place a colored egg on a candle holder. You can add flowers on top or around the egg also.

You can also place a pretty Easter basket on the table with real or plastic eggs. If you use plastic eggs fill them with treats and at the end of the day you can send them home with guests.

A great idea for decorating eggs is to put stickers on the eggs that can be easily pealed off after they are dyed. You can also wrap rubber bands around them for a unique design.

Easter Sunday should be considered a day for you and your family. These are all great ideas to make dinner and decorating easier.