Even if Easter hosting duties fell on your plate this year and added one more thing to your holiday to-do list, that doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. After all, Easter is a time meant for fun and fellowship, with the food just one part of the celebration.
Building the menu around simple, one-pan dishes can keep the focus where it needs to be: spending time and creating memories with family and friends. These dishes call for short lists of ingredients, many of which you may already have in your pantry, and simple preparation to create a full spread perfect for sharing with loved ones. Plus, using only one pan makes cleanup a breeze, so you can get back to the festivities quickly.
A dish like this Easter Roast lets you check both the main course and side dishes off your list, relying on the oven to do most of the work for you after some quick prep work. Similarly easy to prepare, these Refrigerator Rolls can also be made up to six days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to bake – a perfect complement to the savory roast and veggies.
Finish off your feast with an adaptable dessert like this Blueberry Crumble. Made using just five ingredients and ready in about an hour, you can swap the blueberry pie filling and yellow cake mix for any combination that suits your guests’ tastes, like apple pie filling with spice cake or cherry pie filling with chocolate cake; the sky’s the limit when it comes to satisfying that sweet tooth.
Easter Roast
Yield: 1 roast
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
1 roast (3 pounds)
1 bag (1 pound) baby carrots
1 bag (1 1/2 pounds) trio potatoes or potato of choice
3 cups beef broth
1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon garlic pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 bundle asparagus
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the roast and rub into the front, back, and sides. Place the seasoned roast in the middle of a large roasting pan.
Place carrots on one side of the roasting pan and potatoes on the other side.
In a large bowl, mix beef broth and cream of mushroom soup with garlic and pepper. Pour the mixture over the roast, potatoes, and carrots. Sprinkle brown sugar over the carrots and add chopped onion. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours, then remove from oven, add asparagus, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
Serve from a pan or place on a platter for a more formal presentation.
Refrigerator Rolls
Yield: 18 rolls
2 packages yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups lukewarm water
6-7 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1 stick softened butter
oil, divided
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. When yeast is foamy, add 3 cups flour. Mix in salt, eggs, and butter.
Once mixed well, add remaining flour 1 cup at a time and knead dough into ball in bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean surface.
Wash and dry the bowl, then grease with a drizzle of oil. Place the dough in the bowl and let rise for 1 hour, or if making in advance, store in the refrigerator.
When ready to use, grease the muffin pan with oil. Roll dough into hand-size balls and place in each muffin hole; cover for 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls for 30 minutes.
Note: Dough can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to six days. If making ahead, punch down dough, cover, and place in refrigerator. Punch down daily until ready to use.
Blueberry Crumble
Yield: 1 cake
1 can blueberry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 bag (4 ounces) chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup oil
whipped cream for serving (optional)
vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Spread pie filling on the bottom of a 9-by-11-inch pan. Sprinkle cake mix and pecans on top. Do not mix.
Drizzle melted butter and oil over the cake mix and pecans. Do not mix. Lift the pan and tilt it from side to side until the cake mix is completely covered in butter.
Bake for 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
