Easter Dinner Questions

SRL

Active Member
Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for potatoes that work well in the crock pot? I'm going to be short oven space at the end there and going with a crock pot would help.

Also (don't laugh I'm not a coffee drinker)--besides sugar what's customary to serve with coffee? My family always used half and half on special occasions but I don't know if that's the norm.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
SRL, is this for a large group or just a small family gathering? Half n Half is good. The only thing I might suggest is that you also put out some artificial sweetener for those who don't want to use the sugar.

:thumb:

What kind of potatoes are you making? Could you make them earlier in the day and just keep them warm in the crock pot?
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
I have no idea about potatoes in the crock pot. Seems like soggy would be the result.

Yes, some sweet & low and/or equal would be good to have on hand for guests that drink coffee.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
I looked at the crockpot recipe site and they have a bunch of different recipes. I'm not sure what your menu or style is for
the dinner but perhaps my method will be of help.

I mash baked sweet potatoes, a little lemon, cinnamon & nutmeg
with butter s & p until I like the taste. Then I spray the inside of foil cupcake holders with Pam. The cooked potato mixture is scooped into the holders and then I place baby marshmellows on top. I put these on a tray off to the side
and then right before serving they go into the oven to heat and
the marshmellows brown.

One reason I like this recipe, in addition to the fact that it
looks good..lol, is that you can portion control AND the adjacent
food doesn't juice over on the plate.

I'm sure whatever you do, it will be great! Just remember (say
the old Grandma of the CD Board) prepare your table the day or night before and lay out all your dishes and utensils too. That
way D Day isn't so stressful! Hugs. DDD
 

Marguerite

Active Member
A barbecue option you could try, or you could use odd spots in the oven or do them earlier and keep them hot in the crock pot - scrub the potato in its skin, then rub the wet, whole, unpeeled potato with salt. For the barbecue, thread them onto a metal skewer (it helps them cook better on the inside - the metal conducts the heat) and cook them over the coals. For the oven - put them on a metal tray or a rack and bake them dry (no oil or fat). They soon begin to smell wonderful. The skin should thicken and crisp a bit, with a whitish crust of salt. They will keep warm in the crock pot although they may soften slightly - no problem. To eat them - split them open and dollop on sour cream, butter or whatever you want. You need to avoid eating them too fresh from the oven because they can be searingly hot inside. And yes, you eat the skin and all, it's the yummiest bit.

You can cook them ahead and microwave them to reheat, but they're not quite as nice. Still tasty, though.

Marg
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
SRL on the coffee...you can get really good flavored creamers now in both regular and sugar free. They come in both liquid and powdered. A favorite at my house is the buttered pecan and the caramel but toffee is great too. One good thing about these in the liquid is that you can use the leftovers to make excellent french toast!
 

SRL

Active Member
Thanks for the ideas everyone! I'm copying this thread to my recipe section so I'll have it for future reference. DDD I love the cupcake holder idea for the sweet potatoes and will definitely give it a try with another menu.

I wound up doing some searching and found a cheesy potato recipe and trialed it and found it will work if I dress it up with some onion and maybe extra seasoning.

I'd love to be able to set up the night before but I have a long haired black cat who knows no shame so set up will have to be at the very end. My plan is to make all the foods that can be done ahead and if everything goes well I should just be left with my chicken dish and wild rice medley at the end. I'd love to bring rolls hot out of the oven but with only one oven I won't be able to pull that off...I think.

This sort of feels like my "entertaining comeback" if you know what I mean. Before kids and especially before difficult child I used to have people in at the drop of a hat--single friends for pie on a Sunday afternoon when I was single, bringing random people home from church after services, Easter brunch for friends remaining in town, etc. That all came to a screeching halt when I was working with a new baby and difficult child was so difficult those early years I did just the obligatory events and then when his anxiety flared I quit altogether, and since then the house never is company ready anymore or anywhere near it. I've made a ton of carry out meals for families in need but nothing like this in years. I'm doing beverages, meat, potatoes, wild rice and homemade rolls with easy child Sr. doing a cheesecake and everyone else bringing the rest. In fact I just put in the roast beef!
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SRL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'd love to be able to set up the night before but I have a long haired black cat who knows no shame so set up will have to be at the very end.</div></div>

We have three cats, I don't trust them either. What I do is set everything but the centerpiece & stemware then cover the table with a sheet or another tablecloth.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Me, too, TM....and I don't even have a cat!

SRL, I'm sure it is going to be a wonderful festive holiday get-
together. Happy Easter. DDD
 

SRL

Active Member
I like the sheet idea but I suspect it might be an invitation for my kitty to hide under for ambush purposes! I might use it to cover the Computer & Junk in the kitchen though.

I forgot how much work this is but as my teenager so kindly reminded me it would be lots less work for someone whose house was *clean*. I've got the cleaning done but still some stuff to stash (we're eating in the area that's usually difficult child's gym area and family room) and there were corners in there that hadn't seen the light of day in months.

I just set the last batch of rolls to rising and then I'm off to search for the beautiful antique Easter spoon I polished and then set down somewhere. Nothing like adding to your own work...:hammer:
 

crazymama30

Active Member
My house is so small, I cannot set anything up ahead of time. We will be eating at the dining room table and a card table in the living room. 10 of us in all. Some may eat at the breakfast bar. At least it is an open floor plan so we can talk
 

SRL

Active Member
Well, we survived! I've just got the kids off to school and feel like I'm experiencing a holiday hangover. My hands are so numb from carpal tunnel that I can't even type without hand braces on!

My Easter dinner went well and what wasn't what I'd hoped wasn't due to anything I did or didn't do. I still haven't adjusted to holidays with this family. At ours growing up people just "hung out" for the day: snitching food, playing games, watching tv, kids going outside and playing, maybe drinks would be served, etc. For some reason my husband's family isn't like that--they pretty much come, eat, stay for a few hours and leave. I haven't quite figured out the reason behind it--just a more formal family, I think. Someone brought me a bottle of wine as a hostess gift and I had some left over from the chicken so I put that out thinking it might loosen them up a bit but no one touched it except the half a glass I had. :smile:

This morning I'm left with three rooms that look better than they have in years and three that are full of the stuff that were moved out due to painting, making room for the tables, or stashing so I've got plenty on my plate. But it feels good to finally have some improvements made to the house!

Here's the potato recipe I made if anyone is interested. It worked well for a busy holiday meal since everything was do ahead the night before and just needed to be dumped into a
crockpot and stirred occasionally. I was wondering if the hash browns would make it seem informal but the cheeses and sour cream richened it up plenty.

Big Batch Hash Brown Casserole

8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups milk
1 cup sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon finely chopped onion, optional

3 pounds hash browns (12 cups) left in fridge overnight

Combine ingredients except hash browns and mix thoroughly. Stir in hash browns. Pour into large greased baking dish 9 x 10 or larger. Bake at 375 for 1 hour of until bubbly. Remove from oven and let set 10 minutes before serving. May sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese if desired.

Do ahead crock pot instructions: Mix all ingredients except hash browns the night before and refrigerate overnight in sealed bowl. Put hash brown packages in refrigerator. When ready to cook, nonstick spray crockpot well. Add hash browns and cheese mixture, stirring thoroughly. Cook on high for 4 hours stirring about every 30 minutes.

SRL, at home alone with 2 nearly full bottles of wine, leftovers, tons of Easter candy, and 3 messy rooms...
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
I just signed on to see if it went well. Sounds terrific. by the way,
our family was the "stay a few hours" type also. I'm glad you had a Happy Easter. DDD
 

Suz

(the future) MRS. GERE
I've had the baked (as opposed to crock pot) version of that recipe and it's DELICIOUS! I'm glad everything worked out well, SRL.

Suz
 
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