A Wonderful Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Can I tell you what I prepared for dinner for nine adults and nine children? That's right folks, eighteen people. Before I get into what I prepared, let me tell you about the Easter baskets I made. There were nine Easter baskets made with a child's name on each. The baskets contained the exact number of goodies in each one, as I made sure it was "fair". I also made about 100 plastic eggs filled with candy which were hid in the front and back yard. Before dinner, the kids were all on the front porch, waiting for the hunt to begin. You could see the hunger in their eyes, the hunger for plastic eggs filled with enough sugar to put you in hyper-mode the rest of your life.

Three!
Two!
One!
GO!!!

It was a mad race around the yard. My kid was helping the younger children get eggs because some of the older ones wanted to be greedy. What a good kid. He knew the candy was going to get divided in the end. What fun to be that age again!

Now, on to the food. First the main meat dishes. We cooked two beef briskets, slow roasted for seven hours at 250 degrees. Sliced thin and put back in the oven with Curly's BBQ sauce slathered all over. The smaller brisket was dry and both were seasoned with Daddy Hinkle's dry rub. The other meat dish was a twelve pound spiral ham that included a sweet honey glaze. I also prepared my famous garlic mashed potatoes, all five pounds of it. It was so good, buttery with a hint of garlic. Creamy goodness came next with my crock pot corn. The cream cheese and corn were a duet of country and comfort. I also prepared some regular canned veggies for the kiddies. Corn and peas were the ordinary guests on the plate. We also had baked beans with diced bacon and brown sugar to tantalize the taste buds. I also prepared M&M cookies, two lime chiffon pies, and I bought a variety sampler cheesecake and a sliced marble creme cake. Some items that were brought by family would include rolls, deviled eggs, jello, a strawberry creme cake, blueberry and apple pie. I also had some snacks to add to the fun! Chips and salsa were half-gone within the hour and the relish tray of pickled beets, pickled okra, black olives, baby dills, and pepper jack cheese was within the arms reach to tempt us during our conversations.

The end of the dinner was great. As everyone congregated around the kitchen table with their laughter and stories, I willingly listened as I cleaned up. I was able to package to-go boxes and clean the entire kitchen before everyone left. WooHoo! Less I have to do afterward, more time to spend with all of you!

Hope your Easter was as great as mine!