This is the question that haunts my dreams. Sometimes it is so hard for me to think of easy, satisfying meals to feed my family. I suspect I’m not the only one with this problem. Here are a few dinner ideas that are full of flavor and fairly quick. They will also help use up all of those hard boiled eggs you may have left over from Easter.


English Muffin Tops:  Cut English muffins in half, spread on some pesto, top with tomatoes, sliced hard boiled eggs, mozzarella cheese and preferred seasoning. Broil on high until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. So delish!




Chicken Breast on Bed of Spinach:  Season chicken breast and cook with a little bit of olive oil over medium heat. Spread spinach over a plate then cut up cooked chicken and place on top. Top with mango salsa and add sliced avocado and eggs to the side.  Drizzle with homemade sesame dressing (recipe below). My favorite dish!


Sesame Dressing:  Add 1/3 C sugar, ¼ C apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp onion flakes, ¼ tsp paprika, ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce, ¼ C oil and 1 tsp lemon juice to a blender for 30-60 seconds. Stir in toasted sesame seeds and serve.

If you prefer an Easter Brunch, then this rustic farmhouse setting is an easy get together to pull off.


We set the table with baskets filled with eggs.  We used wooden candlesticks and cake holders to add that rustic charm.   We used a vintage floral sheet as the table runner.  Then we pulled out
Grandma’s china to set the table.

We placed some small nests on the table, along with bunny salt and pepper shakers.

We made a bunny garland, complete with pop-pom tails.   The centerpiece was the naked cake, (Recipe found here) topped with a nest and some candy eggs.

We like to pull everything together with fresh cut flowers placed in tin pails.    We just love how everything turned out.  It was the perfect mix of old and new, fancy and shabby.

To make the bunny garland:

Take a few different patterns of pastel colored scrapbook paper.  Find an image of a bunny on your computer and print it off.    Cut the shape and then trace onto the scrapbook paper.  Cut out a few bunny’s and string on a piece of  yarn.  To make the pom-pom tails, wrap a long piece of yarn around a fork abou 20 times.  Then tie a piece of yarn around it to hold it together, then trim the loops.  Perfect little bunny tails.

Hosting an Easter Egg hunt is fun for young and old alike.  Simple projects that you can do with your kids will turn your dinner table into a special Easter setting.

To make these individual Easter basket place holders, we cut a styrofoam cup in half.  We then hot glued a burlap and lace ribbon around it.  We attached a twine holder and then filled the basket with paper grass.  We made chocolate bunnies, which is a great project to let the kids handle.  Then we placed one bunny in the grass with a few pastel candy eggs.  Your guests will feel special to have their own individual basket, and your kids will love telling everyone that they were a part of the table setting.

To make the chocolate bunnies we bought chocolate wafers from the craft store and melted them as directed.  Then we poured the chocolate into the molds.  After they cooled we were able to pop them out of the mold and eat!


Another project you can get your kids to help with is this festive Easter topiary.  We just took a piece of poster board and shaped it into a cone.  Then you will hot glue plastic easter eggs all around the cone.  After all the plastic eggs are placed, we took some moss and stuffed it in between the eggs to give it a whimsical feel.  This project took about ten minutes and we bought all of the supplies at the Dollar Tree.

Tips for the Egg Hunt

*  Be prepared.  Have all of the plastic eggs already stuffed and ready to go.
*   Think begond candy.  Fill the eggs with toys, erasers, coins,.....the ideas are endless.
*  Let the younger kids start hunting earlier, that way they can scavage the easier ones before the big kids
snag them.
*  Try hosting a glow in the dark hunt this year.  The older kids will especially love starting this new t
radition.
*  Have an egg dying station.  Try the cool whip method.  Place a few drops of food coloring into a dish of cool whip and then swirl the color around.  Place the eggs in and let sit for 15 minutes per side, and then when they are done, they have a cool tie-dye effect.
*  Make sure you have enough eggs.  A good rule of thumb is 20 eggs per kid.  Make sure you enlist help on this.  Have your guests contribute to the hunt.

We recently took a trip out to the Grand Canyon.  We had to travel from Utah to Phoenix for a soccer tournament, and we thought that since the kids have never been to the there, a little detour to the Grand Canyon would be great.

It was a long drive.  But we were pumped because we've seen pictures and it looked pretty cool.
Plus, it's the Grand Canyon!!! One of the Seven Wonders of the World!!  It was going to be pretty spectacular!

So we finally get there, and we stop at the first scenic view point we come to.  We get out, stretch our legs, and make our way over to the edge.............we take a few pictures, ooh and ahh, and then our oldest says, "Is this it?"


Yes.  That was it.  This is the GRAND CANYON!  All the kids looked a little puzzled, and then my daughter said, "I just thought it would be,.......bigger.  A little more GRAND!"  The boys agreed.  We told them that this was just one of many view points.  That we would drive to another spot, and it would probably be a better view.  They were excited.  We hopped back in the car.  Drove about 30 minutes, and arrived at a different spot.

We got out of the car, and at this scenic view spot, there were a few hiking trails and more places to look out from.  So we walked around, checking out the different spots taking lots of pictures.  We asked the kids what they thought.  "Well, it's cool and all, but it's not as big as we thought it would be."  said one kid.  The other kid said, "Ya, and I wanted to see more of the Canyon, you can't really see it."  My daughter said that the pictures she has seen of the Canyon looked way better than what we were looking at.

Now, don't get me wrong.  They were impressed.  And we had fun walking around and exploring, but it wasn't what they expected.  I think they thought we were going to hike down and around the canyon, get to see the air shots they saw in the pictures, and see the entire canyon.  We explained that to hike to the bottom and back was like a three day hike.  And that the Canyon was hundreds of miles, and to see a different view point would take hours to drive around to it.  And the cool pictures they've seen were from helicopters, because it was so big, that the only way to really see the whole thing was from above.  So we took pictures of where we were, had a yummy lunch, and called it a day.


The kids could cross "Visit the Grand Canyon" off their list!

But in the weeks since our trip, I have been thinking a lot about it.  And how life is like the Grand Canyon.  How often do we stand in one spot looking at our life and think, "Is this it?  This isn't that grand!"

Are you stuck standing, looking at one viewpoint?  Do you look at your life and think - "I want to do/be/experience more?  This can't be everything!  I've seen pictures,  I want THAT view!"

We can have that view.  Life, just like the Grand Canyon, doesn't seem that big when you stand in one spot looking at it.  But, the more you experience, learn and grow, the more you see!  What are you doing to see YOUR grand plan?  Are you working, taking those three day hikes to the bottom, living out adventures?  Are you taking risks and jumping on the helicopter, allowing yourself to grow and learn and discover new things?

Thomas Edison said, "If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."

You will never see your true potential by standing in one place.  By allowing yourself to stand at the same place, you are missing out on the beauty and the blessings in life that are not just for other people to enjoy.  They are for you too!  Put in the work.  Take risks.  Push yourself to live the life you want.  Don't get comfortable with your view.  Be grateful for it, enjoy it, embrace it, but then move on to the next spot.  Life has so much to offer!  Don't just stand in one place - because you won't see it!

Heather

I was on a quest to search for the best way to hard boil an egg. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve always had issues cooking eggs. They never turn out quite right. They’re either rubbery or have a grayish yolk. Did you know that the gray is actually a chemical reaction from over cooking the egg? I also have problems with the peeling process. I usually end up losing half the egg with the shell.


I tried 3 different methods and I ended up with the perfect hardboiled egg. I suppose I should say hard cooked because they weren’t all boiled. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Stove top method- Place eggs in a single layer in pot, cover with cold water then bring to a boil on medium heat. You have to pay attention here, because as soon as the water comes to a rapid boil, you’ll want to put a lid on and turn off the heat. Let sit for about 10 minutes then place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.


Oven cooking- Put eggs in a muffin tin to keep them from rolling around. Cook at 325 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Take out and place in ice water bath.


Crockpot cooking- Place eggs in a single layer in crockpot, cover with water and cook for about 2 hours on high. Time may vary depending on your slow cooker. Remove and place in ice water bath.

 And the winner is…(drumroll please)…OVEN COOKING!  Seriously, the perfect egg. The yolk was yellow and creamy and it was so easy to peel. Not to mention, this was the simplest way to cook eggs. The only negative (if I’m being nitpicky) is that a couple of the eggs ended up with a little brown spot from where they were resting against the pan. The stove top eggs ended up pretty good as well, but they were harder to peel and you really do have to make sure you’re watching those eggs so they don’t overcook. I was least impressed with the crockpot method. It takes the longest, the egg yolks turned slightly gray around the outside and they were so difficult to peel. I lost a lot of egg white along with the shell.

So there you have it. When getting ready for those egg hunts this Easter, heat up that oven and let it do all the work.  Then sit back and enjoy the perfect egg.

I love a good table setting.  I literally get giddy setting the table a little extra special for my family.  I think it's because it is something extra.  It's not the usual.  It's something that they notice, and something to be recognized as special.


Life gets crazy and super busy.  My kids are older, ages 10-16, so it's not very often that we are ALL home at the same time to eat dinner together.  And sadly, when we are all together eating, a lot of times it's in the car from one soccer game to another.  I know I'm not alone in this.  Dinner time has become less special, and just one more thing on my huge to do list.

That is why I am so passionate about Sunday Dinners.  It's the one day a week that I KNOW we will be all home, and that I will have a little extra time to make sure that my family feels special.  I show love by creating a happy, safe home for them to escape from their outside drama.  We will often sit around the table LONG after we've eaten and continue our conversation and laughter.  It makes this Mama's heart joyful.

During the rest of the week, we gather once or twice for dinner all together at the dinner table, and I don't go all out on setting the table, but I do make sure that on Sunday, we get that little bit of extra special.  Because Sunday is an extra special day anyways.

Love,
Heather