Ham and Cheese Brunch Squares

Oh, look! Another Easter recipe that thought it could escape! Breakfast is one of my top 3 meals of the day. Right after dessert and chocolate. This is Easter-y because I used leftover ham for it. Or it'd be good for an Easter brunch. Serves A-LOT. To serve even more, make in a cookie sheet, but keep an eye on the cooking times.

2-3 C shredded cheese
1 pkg shredded hash browns, thawed
8 oz cream cheese, softened
12 eggs (or 2 3/4 C liquid eggs)
1/2 tsp pepper
8 oz deli ham, coarsely chopped (or Easter leftovers, or sausage, or whatever breakfast meat you have around. Though, ham is my favorite. In case you make this for me some day.)
2 stalks green onion (optional.)
3 plum tomatoes (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread hash browns into a greased 9x13" pan. Press gently into an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the hash browns. Bake 13-15 minutes or until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted. Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add eggs and black pepper. Whisk until smooth{I kinda like the cream cheese to still be just a little chunky}. Slice green onions and cook with the ham over medium heat until hot. Sprinkle over the hash browns when they are done then pour the egg mixture over all. Bake 8-10 minutes longer until center is set. Top with remaining cheese and tomatoes.

Snowball Cake/ Chick cupcakes

I made these for Easter, then totally forgot to post the recipe! Good thing we're doing desserts on Wednesday... Maybe no one will notice the little yellow bird part of this... I saw the idea for these cupcakes on a blog and thought they were super cute. I always envy adorable cupcakes, I just can't bring myself to spend 5 minutes decorating ONE cupcake just to have some under-appreciative person devour it, then comment on it's taste. The chicks were super cute AND super simple. I, however, can't be content with just plain cupcakes, so I took one of our favorite recipes and adjusted it for cupcakes. Notice the inside of the cupcakes have a little white filling. Cream cheese filling. Pudding frosting. When this is done as a cake it comes out looking like an overgrown Snowball- the nasty Ding Dong kind, not the throw-in-your-face kind. But it tastes SOOO much better. To be honest, I don't think the cupcakes came out quite as good as I'd hoped, but still, addictively yummy. First the cake recipe, then the chick decorating instructions.

1 pkg devil's food cake mix

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened (I always use Neufchatel- a lower fat cream cheese)

1 egg

2 tbsp sugar

1 (3.4 oz)pkg instant vanilla pudding

1/4 C powdered sugar

1 C cold milk

2 C thawed Cool Whip

1 C flake coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter in 2 1/2 qt OVENPROOF bowl, as directed on package; scrape sides of bowl (since you cook the cake in this bowl, scraping the sides helps keep it from sticking when you're done). In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, egg and granulated sugar until well blended. Spoon into center of batter in bowl.

Bake 1 hour 5 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool bowl 10 minutes. Loosen cake from bowl with a knife or spatula, then, using potholders if necessary, invert onto wire rack. Remove bowl and cool cake completely.

Meanwhile, beat pudding mix, powdered sugar and milk in medium bowl with a whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in Cool Whip (this will still have a slight yellowish tint to it. Don't worry, we'll cover it with coconut which will make it look less like... yellow snow.). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Once it's cooled, place cake on a plate and frost with the pudding mix. Cover with coconut. Keep refrigerated.

Cupcakes:

For the cupcakes I just poured the cake batter into a cupcake pan lined with cupcake paper then dropped a dollop of the filling in the center. In the cake, the filling sinks almost to the bottom of the bowl, so when it's inverted it's about 1/2" from the top. The filling doesn't really go anywhere with the cupcakes, so it's just cream cheese in the middle. I used the same frosting because it's so good and it has a yellowish tint to it already. If you use a different frosting, add a few drops of yellow food coloring to it. Add a few drops to the coconut as well and mix well. Try not to MASH the food coloring in. Not as cute. Seems like that would be obvious. To most... Dip, sprinkle or dump the coconut on each cupcake. The eyes are mini M&M's. The beaks are orange starbursts cut into quarters and smooshed into shape. Have fun!

Pasta Salad

After the eggs are boiled, dyed, hidden, and found, we are faced with what to do with all that protein! Here's a solution- put it in this! Pasta salads are great because you can start with the base recipe and add or subtract ingredients to your taste bud's delight! I also like this because I can make it in the morning and let it chill all day, so come dinner time I may not even have any dishes left to do! Great cool meal or side dish on those hot summer nights.

2 Cups cooked elbow or shell macaroni
1 carrot, peeled and grated {I used diced baby carrots}
1 C frozen green peas {my frozen green peas were frostbitten, so I used a vegetable blend that worked out nice}
1 C grated cheddar cheese
4 hard boiled eggs {plus at least 2 for garnish}
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 can tuna, shrimp, or chicken {cubed ham or bacon would also be good}
2 C miracle whip
1/2 C milk
2 tsp dry onions
1/4 C sweet pickle relish
salt and pepper to taste

In large bowl, lightly stir the first 7 ingredients. In small bowl, stir together miracle whip, milk, onions, and pickle relish. Pour sauce over ingredients in large bowl and toss to coat. Garnish with egg slices and paprika. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

I really like onion, so I decrease the dry onion a teeny tiny bit and added one green onion to the mix. I think next time I'll do it with chicken and bacon. Maybe even Craisins or grapes...

Apple Cobbler

My super awesome neighbor, Catrina Bowers, brought this tasty dessert. The topping is a moist, almost cake-y treat that envelops the apples... Soo good! I just wish we'd remembered to take pictures at the actual Exchange. I totally forgot, so most of the pictures you get are from the plate of leftovers I brought home for Matt! I hope it all still looks as good as it tasted...

7-8 Large tart cooking apples (9 C), peeled, cored, sliced about 1/4 inch
3/4 C sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 C flour
2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place sliced apples in ungreased 9x13" baking pan. Stir together 3/4 C sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over apples.

Combine remaining cinnamon, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Pour melted butter over topping. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until lightly browned and apples are tender. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

Orange Knot Rolls

I first had these at Thanksgiving last year when my sister-in-law, Kristen, brought them for dinner. I couldn't get enough! So, I tracked down the recipe in hopes of recreating the amazing-ness. I have to apologize, I slightly overcooked them so they were a little more dry than they should have been. They were still addicting! Warning- These take a good bit of work so they are great for special occasions, but a lot of effort for just any old day!

3 C hot milk

3/4 C sugar

1 C instant potato flakes

1 tbsp salt

1/2 C butter, softened

1/4 C shortening(butter flavored works)

4 whipped eggs, evenly yellow

1 1/2- 2 tbsp yeast(SAF brand- 1 1/2 tbsp. I think I used just under 2)

7-8 C All- purpose flour

Heat milk almost to boiling in microwave, should have skin on top (about 5-6 minutes). Combine sugar, potato flakes, salt, butter, and shortening in bowl and pour hot milk over all. Mix together and let cool about 10 minutes. Mix in eggs and yeast.

Add one cup of flour and then scrape the sides of the bowl until sides are clean. Usually takes just 7 cups of flour, but it can vary with every batch. {I adjusted for the climate and elevation and put about 6 1/2 Cups in and don't think I'd recommend more if you are in Arizona...} Knead for 5 minutes. Put in large greased bowl and cover with a dish towel. Let rise about 1 hour or until doubled.

Pinch off a third or half of dough at a time and roll out oblong on a pastry mat or floured surface{I just realized that I plopped the whole thing onto the counter at once. That might explain why my rolls were so MASSIVE! I find that using Pam on a clean counter works just as well, if not better than flour.} (Flip over and roll out both sides for prettier look.) Spread softened butter over all and flop over bottom and top two thirds to make 3 layers. Flatten slightly with a rolling pin. Use a pizza cutter to make 1/2 inch strips. Hold strips at both ends and twist in opposite directions, then tie into a knot. Place rolls on greased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cover rolls with waxed paper and let rise 2-3 hours until about doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes until barely golden {slightly less golden than the picture above...} Makes about 4 dozen rolls. {Unless you forget to pinch off half the dough. Then it makes maybe 2 dozen... hehehe}

Variations:

Crescent rolls- Easier and quicker method. Divide dough into thirds, rolling each third into a flat circle about 16-18 inches in diameter. Using a pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 slices, rolling each slice from the wide end first. Follow remaining directions

Orange Rolls- mix 1 1/2 Cups sugar, 3/4 cups butter, and grated rind of 2 oranges. Spread on dough before layering like knot rolls or spread on circle before rolling up like crescent rolls, or roll into a jelly roll and cut like cinnamon rolls. After baking, frost with 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, juice from 2 oranges, chunk of butter and some grated rind.

Cinnamon rolls- spread butter the sprinkle mixture of 3/4 C brown sugar, 3/4 C white sugar, and 2 tsp cinnamon(or just substitute cinnamon chips for the mixture). Roll dough into jelly roll and slice into 3/4- 1 inch slices using dental floss. Place on greased pan, cover and let rise about 2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Frost with a mixture of powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, pinch of salt and butter.

Malad Salad Dessert

Again, sorry for the totally unacceptable picture! This tastes much better than it lookes, I PROMISE!! This is from Brooke Haskett. I'm not sure where this recipe gets off calling itself a salad, as it is primarily pudding, cool whip and cookies, but we'll take it anyway!

1 large pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 C buttermilk
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 8 oz carton Cool Whip
1 pkg Fudge Striped cookies, crushed

Mix together the pudding and buttermilk. Add remaining ingredients, saving 6 cookies. Spread into the bottom of a 8-9" baking pan. Top with remaining crushed cookies.

Deviled Eggs

I, for one, LOVE deviled eggs. I think I ate six that night. I always go right for them when someone brings them to a potluck, but I am extremely partial to this recipe. I was put in permanent charge of bringing these to our massive extended family Easter dinners. Again, from my mom.

8 eggs

1 tsp sweet pickle juice

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/3 C miracle whip

Paprika

Boil eggs for 12 minutes, cool. Remove shells and carefully slice eggs in half. Carefully remove the yolks and put in a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except paprika. Stir until smooth. Spoon yolk mixture into egg halves, sprinkle with paprika. Keep refrigerated.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

This is what we'd eat for about a week after Easter, but I did NOT mind! I love hard boiled eggs and this is a great, easy way to use them.

6 hard boiled eggs
6 tbsp miracle whip
6 tsp sweet pickle relish

Peel the eggs, place them in a bowl and chop with a fork. Add remaining ingredients, stir together.

My husband doesn't even like miracle whip. At all. But he loves these sandwiches. They're great for lunch, though I usually will put the egg salad in a separate container for Matt to put on the bread when he's ready to eat, since he's not a fan of even slightly soggy bread.

Funny story- I only recently learned how to make a decent hard boiled egg. As in, the last year or two. For the first 4 or 5 years of our marriage our eggs were either under cooked or would stick to the shell like it was concrete. I could make 10 different kinds of cheesecake before I could boil an egg!! I still prefer to let Matt do it... my kryptonite. That and the grill.

Spiral Ham with Mango Salsa

What is Easter without some ham??? I wanted to kick start this exchange with the good stuff and this is AAAAAMAZING!! There aren't many excuses to make it, so I'm really hoping to get the go-ahead from Hubby to make it Wednesday... So many recipes I have to choose from... I got this from a Campbell's email.
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 C Chicken Stock
1 can mango juice or nectar
1 pkg (4 oz) Dried Mango, coarsely chopped
1/2 C packed brown sugar
4 medium green onions, chopped (about 1/2 C)
1 unglazed fully cooked bone-in ham (about 9 pounds) or boneless (about 6 lbs) spiral sliced ham

Heat the butter in a 2 qt saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the stock, mango juice, dried mango and brown sugar and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir for 10 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly. Pour the stock mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl. Reserve the liquid for the glaze. Place the strained mango mixture into a small bowl. Stir in the green onions. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until serving time. Place the ham into a shallow roasting pan and cover loosely with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil. Spoon the reserved glaze over the ham. bake for 30 minutes or until the ham is heated through, basting the ham frequently with the pan drippings. Serve the ham with the mango salsa. I am salivating.