Foodie Friday

Special thanks to Designs by Gollum for hosting this fun event! To view other great recipes stop by Gollum's for some mouth-watering fun!

It is Good Friday today - the perfect time to start thinking about the recipes you will prepare for your Easter Dinner (or Brunch for that matter). I thought I would share some family recipes that I make for our Easter meal. Every year we have a Pineapple/Mustard Glazed Ham, Macaroni Salad, Ranch Potatoes, Rolls and a dessert of some kind. This meal has become a family tradition.

My Macaroni Salad is a big hit at any function I bring it to so I thought I would share it with you! I hope it doesn't cause frustration though, as I don't have exact measurements for you - I got this recipe from my mother in law years ago and she usually just made this "to taste". If you know the main ingredients, you really can't go wrong with this - you just need to do a bit of taste-testing along the way to get it to your liking. No problem there - right?




This picture isn't the best - I made this salad for our Builders one day for their lunch. That is why it looks huge! It takes a lot of salad to feed 30+ people!
This macaroni salad will cause my brother to come visit! It is that good! Now that I am living in Georgia, it may take a little bit more to persuade him to come though - I may need to make his favorite cookies as well!~smile~

Renate's Macaroni Salad
Salad Macaroni - 1 pkg. (I use the smallest macaroni noodles you can find - I can't seem to find small noodles here, so I used shell macaroni for the salad pictured above)
Green Onions - (2 or 3) chopped
Sharp Cheddar Cheese - cut into cubes
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Sweet Pickles (NO substitutes! - this is what gives the salad its flavor)
Miracle Whip - 1 cup (again - do NOT substitute regluar mayo for this recipe)
Mustard - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2-3 tsp

What I do for this salad is cut up all ingredients and mix together - keep adding until you have the right amounts to your liking. There should be equal amounts of eggs, cheese, and pickles. Go easy on the green onions though!
Mix together Miracle Whip, mustard and sugar. Depending upon how much salad you make, you can add more of this dressing if needed. We like it VERY creamy! For added flavor, you can add a little pickle juice too. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for a few hours to blend flavors.

I hope you try this - you won't be disappointed! if you make it let me know what your family thinks. I bet they ask you for more!


This is another picture I took of a meal I had prepared for our church builders. I usually make this cake in a bundt cake pan. To make enough for 30+ people, practicality won over beauty! I had to make it in pans that could be discarded after use.

This is a wonderful Springtime recipe. It is so refreshing and sweet. It is called Lemon Poke Cake - hence the reason for the holes that you see in this picture! This is a great recipe to make for your kids - they will love it as it has lemony icing that is pored over the cake after it comes out of the oven. Sooo good! When you make it in a Bundt Cake pan - remove it from the pan and invert it, the holes aren't seen - so the presentation is better than you see here.
Here is the scrumptious recipe:
Lemon Crazy Poke Cake
1 box Lemon Cake Mix
1 small box Lemon Jello
4 eggs
3/4 cup Water
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil

Icing:
2 cups Powdered Sugar
4 Tablespoons Reallemon ( concentrated lemon juice) - or juice of 2 lemons
Mix cake ingredients all together. Beat 4 minutes, pour into greased and floured 9x13-inch pan or Bundt Cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Bundt Cake pan may require more baking time - check with fork after 35 minutes - adjust as needed. Mix powdered sugar with lemon juice, let stand while cake is baking. Immediately when cake is done, poke holes all over with toothpicks or wooden spoon handle. Pour lemon mixture over the top while cake is still hot. It will harden as it cools to make crunchy, yummy icing. This is so good!

Hope you enjoy these!
I am off to look at your great recipes now-

I pray that you are able to enjoy a relaxing, peaceful Easter weekend with your loved ones!
Blessings,
Kymber