RECAP OF A LOVELY EASTER BRUNCH

Yesterday's Easter Brunch was a wonderful time, filled with lovely company and delicious food.  I also found out something about my family - they prefer pie over cake!  I vowed that by next year I will have perfected a pie recipe.  So to do that, I'm going to comb through my Amish recipes because we all know they make the best pies!

If anyone knows a great pie recipe, please pass it on to me and I will give it my best shot to do it justice and feature it on this blog.

The Raisin Puff cookies got rave reviews with my family.  First off, no one believed that I made the cookies myself from scratch.  After tasting them, everyone fell in love with taste, no matter if they were raisin lovers or not.  Those cookies really are so delicious plus they are different, not your run of the mill chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin, which we all have had a million times.

It was so good to see some of my nieces and nephews yesterday plus their children.  I love them so much and with their busy lives, I'm lucky to get to see them 3 or 4 times a year.

This is the pretty Easter floral arrangement that my daughter brought over.  Those are pink silk day lillies, green Easter grass, yellow rabbit Peep's, and jelly beans at the bottom.  She is so creative and clever and I love her to pieces!

I hope your Easter was peaceful, fun, and spiritually uplifting.

RELEASE DAY FOR JUST PLAIN SADIE BY AMY LILLARD

It's release day for Just Plain Sadie!!! Here's a little more about Just Plain Sadie: The Amish of Wells Landing, Oklahoma, treasure their close-knit community, and the promise of their growing families. But one young woman is struggling to choose a future that is true to both her heart and her faith… Everyone in Wells Landing has long expected Sadie Kauffman and Chris Flaud to marry--despite Sadie's telling them differently. While she loves Chris, it is more as a friend than a husband. Yet at twenty-two, the plainest girl in her group, Sadie is also the only one who is still single. Perhaps it's time to be practical and marry Chris--though he still has not asked. But when Sadie meets a kind, handsome Mennonite, it seems her prayers have been answered…  With Ezra Hein, Sadie at last feels the joy she nearly gave up on. Unfortunately, others only feel shock that she would consider marrying an outsider. To complicate matters, Chris has finally begun talking to Sadie about their future. Distressed, Sadie will have to search her heart to recognize God's marvelous gifts to her--and find the courage to accept them, challenges and all…

Copyright © 2016 Amy Lillard Author, All rights reserved.

EASTER BRUNCH RECIPES

Happy Holy Week!  Are you too also planning a big meal for your family and friends for Easter Sunday?  My family has some traditional favorites we love every Easter.  Today I will give you a few recipes that we will be making:

HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

32 ounce bag of shredded hash browns
1 cup fresh diced onions (or use frozen diced onions, thawed)
1 pint sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stick of butter, melted
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups crushed potato chips

Thaw hash browns in package for 45 minutes.  Combine in a large bowl all ingredients EXCEPT the potato chips.  Pour into a 9" x 13" ungreased glass pan. Top with the crushed potato chips.  Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

This recipe is courtesy of my sister Janet.  She gave me this recipe probably 30 years ago and it has been a staple for our family get togethers.

Clink on the links below to find more recipes!

SAUSAGE, CHEESE & EGG CASSEROLE - Feel free to substitute a cheese other than Swiss.


RAISIN PUFF COOKIES - These cookies are not super sweet and therefore perfect on Easter when so much candy and sweets are around.

Blessings to you all, my friends, all over the world who read my simple blog. 

IT'S TIME FOR AN EASTER BRUNCH!

Well friends, the sacred occasion of Easter is almost here.  Today is Palm Sunday, we have collected our palms and listened to the Passion of Christ.  Now the most holy of weeks is upon us - and a most busy of weeks for me as I prepare to host an Easter Sunday brunch for part of my large family.

This year we will have 17 around the table, eating at noon.  Here is my menu:

Honey Baked Ham
Turkey Sausage Links
Creamy Potato Casserole
Sausage Cheese Egg Casserole
Fruit Salad
Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad
2 Coffee Cakes
Mini Muffins
Butter Lettuce and Ranch Green Salad
Deviled Eggs
Raisin Puff Cookies
Yellow Bundt Cake with Fluffy White Icing
Coffee, Mimosas, OJ, Milk, and Chocolate Milk

Fortunately for me, several of my nieces, my daughter, and my sister are bringing some of the above dishes so I don't have to cook it all!

I will give you links to some of the recipes tomorrow.  Good luck with your planning for this week and Easter Sunday.