Easter Sunday Meals, Snacks, Brunch and Party Food Ideas

Has Easter got you in a scramble? Needing some ideas for an Easter themed meal? Here's some suggestions for an Easter day to remember.

How to decorate your table for Easter and get the kids involved:

Candied Eggshells

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Empty paper egg carton
Nontoxic acrylic paints
Yellow jelly beans
Easter basket grass

Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Cut or tear the cups from an empty paper egg carton.
2. Use nontoxic acrylic paints to coat the insides white and the outsides tan or beige.
3. Once the shells are dry, fill paper candy cups or mini bake cups with yellow jelly beans and place them inside the shells.
4. Then set a pair atop a small nest of Easter basket grass beside each place setting.

(Keep the kids occupied, and keep your quest to make Easter a memorable treat for the family.)

Chicks in a Basket

( A cute idea to add an Easter flare to any table.)

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Kitchen shears
Small basket
Yellow work glove
Craft glue
Scissors
Felt
Small googly eyes
Easter grass
Ribbon or flat braid (optional)

Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Use the kitchen shears to cut a whole in the bottom of your basket that's big enough for your child to fit her hand through.

2. Stick the work glove up through the hole, leaving the cuff out.

3. Secure the cuff to the bottom with craft glue.

4. Tuck the thumb of the glove into the basket and glue it out of sight.

5. Cut four small triangular beaks out of the orange felt and four small combs out of the yellow felt.

6. Glue the combs to the tops of each gloved finger; glue the beaks -- slightly curved -- onto each "face."

7. Complete each face by gluing on a pair of googly eyes.

8. Add a small handful of Easter grass around the chicks in the basket.
(If desired, decorate the handle by wrapping it with pretty ribbon or braid.)

Egg Garden

(Here's an idea for a centerpiece that every one can help make. Something simple for the kids to take part in.Try this on for size.)

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Craft foam in green and other colors
Cardboard tube
Scissors
Masking tape
Eggs (real or plastic)
Sandwich bag
Uncooked rice or beans

Time needed: About 1 to 2 Hours

1. Cut a pair of petal patterns from craft foam (or download our templates). For the center hole, trace the end of a cardboard tube, then cut out the circle.

2. To make the stem, glue a piece of green craft foam around the cardboard tube, using masking tape to secure it until the glue dries.

3. Push the foam-covered stem through the holes in the foam petals and set an egg in place for the flower center. For added stability, place a sealed sandwich bag of uncooked rice or beans inside the stem to anchor it.

Need something to keep the children occupied while you are making the Easter feast? Here's a couple fun ideas to keep them out of the kitchen:

Thumb Bunny Card

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Paintbrush
White acrylic paint
Paper plate
Colored card stock
Black and pink markers

Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Use the paintbrush to spread a thin layer of paint on the bottom of the paper plate -- this will be your ink pad.

2. Have your kids dip their thumbs into the paint and print them on the card. Their thumbprint will be the bunny's head. For the ears, have them press down only half of their thumb to make a long, skinny shape.

3. After the paint dries, they can decorate the face with markers, adding whiskers, eyes, and a nose.

4. Use a black marker to write "Some bunny loves you!" on the front of the card.

Tips:
Even a really young child can make the thumbprints. A parent or an older child can offer to help out with the features and writing.

Make sure you put plenty of newspaper down so you won't be cleaning up the mess!

Carrot Scavenger Hunt

Here's a way to get the children to like veggies!

WHAT YOU NEED:
Orange construction paper
Green construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Snacks

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Cut out 20 carrots from orange construction paper and glue on the green construction paper tops.

2. "Plant" them all around the house--under sofa cushions, in the silverware drawer, or taped to the refrigerator door, for example.

3. Then send your kids around the house to gather all the carrots. Let them redeem their carrots for snacks, such as a small box of raisins, a pack of gum, a bag of pretzels, or a piece of carrot cake.

While they are busy searching you could be cooking up a masterpiece.

Here's some interesting entree's for a menu made for 'eggcellence.'

Royal Ham and Eggs

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf of French bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound cooked ham or sausage, cubed
1 8-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
8 eggs
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk

1. Heat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish and line with the bread cubes.

2. Cover the bread with layers of ham or sausage, chopped spinach, cherry tomatoes, and grated cheese.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, dried mustard, pepper, and milk. Pour the mixture over the casserole.

4. Bake for 30 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes, or until the cheese turns golden brown. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

(Brunch never tasted so good.)

Hmm maybe you had something lighter in mind, here's a fun recipe and easy to whip into shape!

EASTER HAM SALAD SANDWICHES

Make sure you get out your cookie cutters!.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound cooked ham
1/2 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
48 bread slices, thinly sliced
Cookie cutters in Easter shapes

DIRECTIONS
1. In a food processor, pulse the ham for 20 to 30 seconds or until it's finely chopped (don't overdo it). Transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the celery, onion, mayonnaise, mustard and pepper; mix well.

3. Assemble sandwiches using 2 tablespoons of filling per sandwich, then use a cookie cutter to cut out bunnies, chicks and eggs (each sandwich should yield two small shapes; save the trimmings for parents).

Try tossing some more Easter flavor to the mix, decorate the sandwiches with olive eyes, parsley whiskers and fresh dill feathers. Makes about 48 small shapes.

I was glancing through some pretty interesting dinner menu items for Easter and this one caught my eye.

BAKED HAM

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Whole or half ham, precooked, cured, or smoked
2 cups apple cider
3 tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 can pineapple slices

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ham fat-side down in a roasting pan with the apple cider. Bake a whole ham 10 minutes per pound, or a half ham 15 minutes per pound, or until a meat thermometer reads 130 degrees. Baste the ham with the liquid in the pan from time to time during baking.

2. When the ham is cooked, remove it from the oven and slice off the skin and most of the fat, leaving a quarter-inch layer. Lay the ham in the pan, fat-side up this time, and make crosshatches using a long, sharp knife.

3. In a small bowl, make a paste of the mustard and brown sugar and rub it all over the ham. Add pineapple slices at this point if desired, securing the pieces with toothpicks. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

4. Return the ham to the oven and bake 15 minutes more or until it appears glazed, but before the sugar has a chance to burn.

The ready-to-serve and canned hams available in supermarkets will require only this final embellishment and not the preliminary baking.
A 4-1/2 pound ham makes 6 servings.

Ahh, ham delicious, and to finish the mix lets try the dessert aisle... if you want, rally some help from the family to make these fun treats..

Ducky Dessert

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

Ice cream, flavor of your choice
Chocolate chips or raisins
Orange gumdrop, flattened
Fruit leather or dried apricots

1. First spread out a paper cupcake liner and set it on a small plate or in a bowl.

2. For the body, place a large scoop of vanilla ice cream or lemon sherbet on top of the liner.

3. Create a neck by topping the body with a spoonful of ice cream and use the bowl of the spoon to flatten it slightly. Place a small scoop of ice cream on the neck for the head. Press on chocolate chips or raisins for eyes.

4. For a beak, flatten an orange gumdrop and cut it into two pieces. Or you can simply insert a shelled peanut into the ice cream.

5. Finally, make webbed feet with pieces of fruit leather or dried apricots.

Easter should be a special day, keep in mind family oriented is the way to go! Make Easter a time when all your family gets involved, it means so much more when everyone pitches in, be creative, and enjoy the holiday!

I found these great Easter ideas at FamilyFun.com, website page: http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/minisite/easter-main-ms/, there are lots more fun ideas there to check out, so check it out!