Happy Easter

We had such a wonderful Easter this year! Charlene and Shelton and Uncle Ryan came to visit us and we had a lot of fun. The day Ryan left, Riley looked at me with big, sad eyes and said, "Mom, I really miss Uncle Ryan." Then the next day as Charlene and Shelton were getting ready to leave, Riley came up to me again with the same sad eyes and said, "Mom, I want Grandma and Grandpa to stay forever." Me too buddy.

We had a fun Easter egg hunt in our backyard. I thought I was scaling back on the candy by only buying 2 small bags of candy, but even that was too much! Next year, there will be a bit of candy in the eggs, but mostly it will be trinkets of the non-edible variety. Riley was doing such a great job of sharing all the eggs he found, until he realized that Tanner had more eggs than he did...so the sharing stopped. :)

I know that ham is the meat of choice for Easter, but I really felt like turkey, so turkey it was. I was in the kitchen from 8:30 am to noon preparing the food...with the immense help of Shelton and Charlene. Slaving in the kitchen for 4-hours was totally worth it though when I got to taste the fruits of my labors. Can you say YUM! I bet you can, but not loud enough for what this meal deserves. So tasty! Mmmmmm...

Here are the recipes...trust me, you want these

The BEST turkey recipe out there...I use it every Thanksgiving...and now Easter as well.

Sweet Potatoes to die for: This is the base recipe, but I change things a little to make it truly fantastic. First of all, cut the sugar in half. Second of all, use brown sugar instead of white in the potato mixture. Third, and last, before you put the streussel topping on, cover the top with mini-marshmallows. Then put the streussel over the top.

Homemade rolls that are melt-in-your mouth delicious

Asparagus: I melt some butter in a pan and drizzle with olive oil. I add some minced garlic, then my washed asparagus and swish it all around. Then I put some kosher salt over the top and cook until it is crisp-tender.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy: I always use red potatoes with the skin on for my mashed potatoes. Then I add milk, butter, cream cheese, diced green onions, and salt/pepper.

Stuffing...of the Stove Top variety...yum!

Jell-O Salad: Boil 3 cups of water, add 2 packages tapioca pudding and one small box cherry Jell-O. Put in a bowl and cool in refrigerator until set. Then fold in raspberries and one tup cool whip. Mmmmm. It is a family favorite...and we are not Jell-O OR tapioca people.