Celebrating Holy Week: Easter Menu Ideas

This week marks the most important holiday for Christians - Easter. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Holidays in our family mean a time for fellowship around the table and lots of food traditions. I can remember as a little girl how we always filled our house with friends and family for the Easter season. My favorite foods included Grandma Sara's homemade Easter bread and our own chocolate-covered eggs made with delectable fillings like peanut butter or mint.

This year we will be celebrating Easter with a supper at my mother-in-law's house. She will prepare the lamb Armenian style for us and I'm sure we will enjoy her famous Armenian Rice Pilaf. Since I'm not working on the main menu, I thought I'd take this opportunity to review some of my fave recipes to help you plan yours. Maybe you will happen upon one that will appeal to your family this season.

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen!

Brunch ideas:
Breakfast Enchiladas - This is a fun recipe to make breakfast fancy with a Mexican kick. We even serve up these egg and bean enchiladas for dinner sometimes.
Farmer's Market Egg & Sausage Casserole - Spring has sprung at the local farmer's markets. Don't miss the chance to incoporate organic, in-season veggies in your family brunch.
Carrot Tea Party Muffins - If you're joining a family brunch and want something easy to pack into a festive basket, try out these fun muffins. They can easily be made a day ahead.
Cranberry-lemon Scones with Lemon Whipped Cream - My girls love to help me make these homemade scones. Make an Easter morning brunch into a fancy English tea party with a special touch like these scones.
Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese, Bosc Pears and Poppy Seed Vinaigrette - This salad is low maintenance but will wow guests and add something more hearty to your brunch menu.
Strawberry Dutch Baby - You can use any kind of fruit on this Dutch puffy pancake. Since strawberries are in season in our neck of the woods, we will be heading down to the local stand.

Appetizers:
Maple-Pecan Chicken Wonton Cups - This fun appetizer is bite-sized (well, maybe two) and eaters of all ages love the combination of savory chicken salad and wonton crunch. Great to bring to a party.
Zucchini Flat Breads - Simple ingredients transform into an elegant appetizer or a perfect accompaniment to soup or salad.
Warm Italiano Spread - Serve up this delectable spread on crackers or homemade bread.
Egg salad sandwiches three different ways - Wondering what in the world to do with all those hard-boiled eggs? Why not make them into appetizers for your family. Here are three unique recipes for egg salad. Cut them into tea sandwiches or use an Easter-shaped cookie cutter to make them more festive on the plate.

Spring mains:
Italian Chicken with Strawberry Salsa - I wait all year for the strawberries so I can make this strawberry salsa over chicken. It's also great over lamb or fish. Experiment!
Italian Wedding Soup - This soup is a great starter for an Easter feast or make it your main and serve it with hearty appetizers. Kids and adults love the meatballs.
Chicken Cacciatore - This is one of our favorite "company" mains. The colorful peppers and tender chicken will be a treat for your guests.
Maple-Apricot-Glazed Salmon - Ready to move the cooking outside. Fire up the grill and try out these easy salmon recipe. If you don't have the cedar planks, don't fret. It's still yummy without that more expensive touch.

Fancy Beverages:
Strawberry-mint Lemonade - I love to get out our fancy wine glasses and serve up this spring-inspired virgin beverage. It's colorful and speaks spring.

Easter desserts:
Carrot Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting - You can use this recipe in two round pans and create a bunny cake like we did above. The kids can have fun decorating with natural candies (check out Trader Joe's or Whole Foods) or even chocolate chips.
Chai Cheesecake - This is one of my fave cheesecakes because it combines warm spices with a light cheesecake. It's a fun twist on a traditional dessert. Move over, Cheesecake Factory!
Chocolate-Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches - If you want to make something fun the whole family can enjoy, try making these homemade ice cream sandwiches. You can make them Saturday afternoon and they will be frozen and ready for Easter Sunday Supper.

Recipe of the Week: Maple-Pecan Chicken Wonton Cups

Many of you have been asking me for this recipe so I thought this would be a good week to share my fave appetizer. This is a great show-stopper and, outside of "wonton wrappers," it doesn't require tons of special ingredients. You can follow the recipe or make your own version of chicken salad to fill the cups. A variation of this recipe recently won first prize in the Hidden V*lley R*nch recipe contest at the Big Fresno Fair.

The judges write their comments on the entries for the contest.

Maple-Pecan Chicken Wonton Cups

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (12 ounces)
1 cup water
24 wonton skins
Olive oil spray
3 tablespoons maple syrup
24 whole pecans
2 carrots or 1 red pepper (1 cup), finely chopped
1 small zucchini (1 cup), finely chopped
¼ cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries
1 cup mayonnaise (Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped

Directions:
1. Add water and chicken breasts to a small pot. Cover and boil on medium-high heat approximately 20 minutes. Set aside chicken to cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with olive oil. Place wonton skin in each muffin hole. Using fingers, gently push skin down into muffin hole shape. Spray each skin with olive oil spray.
3. Bake in oven for 8 minutes until wontons are hard and golden brown. (Do not overcook.) Remove and set on a platter.
4. In a small frying pan, add maple syrup and pecans. Heat on medium-low. Stir pecans to coat until maple syrup begins to bubble. Cool.
5. Assemble chicken salad. Dice chicken into small pieces. Mix with carrots (or red pepper), zucchini, green onions and dried cranberries. Add ranch dressing, mayonnaise, salt and fresh basil.
6. Use a tablespoon to add heaping spoonful of chicken salad to each wonton cup. Top with a whole maple-pecan. Serve.

Servings: 12 (2 cups each)

Tuesday Pantry Challenge: Zucchini Flat Breads

What's for Breakfast:
Trader O's
Cranberry-Walnut Toast with butter/cream cheese
Banana-Pumpkin Muffins
Banana

What's for Lunch:
Grapes & Pomegranate Seeds
Zucchini Flat Breads (recipe below)
Leftover Butternut Squash soup
Banana-Pumpkin Muffins

What's for Dinner:
Fall Flavors Vegetarian Lasagna
Whole Wheat Honey Bread (made by Maria Lazo)

Thanks for joining us on our healthy living journey. Today marks Day Two of The Great Pantry Challenge. To be honest, this whole eating out of the pantry thing has not been hard at all so far. I was expecting to be mopey and have major withdrawals for my weekly Trader Joe's run. Sure, it's only day two, but already I'm discovering I have so much more food than I thought I had when I originally made my careful menu plans last Thursday. (It's amazing what joy a small bag of dried black beans discovered in my freezer can bring!)

One of the main reasons we are in plenty instead of want is because we have family and friends who continue to share with us. My mother-in-law had extra grapes and almonds from a Valley farmer who goes to her office. My mom decided to get creative in her baking and then shared a bread made in her bread maker. For lunch, we invited our friends the Freelands over. They are also doing this Pantry Challenge. They shared extra pizza ingredients for a second flatbread. Sure, they have five kids but our food supply wasn't really depleted when we considered what they shared and the great feeling one gets when sharing fellowship around the table. This evening another couple shared with us a bag of organic raisins from the farmer's market because they couldn't make it through their abundance.

Unbelievable. Mind you, I never solicited food from friends or family members; they just happened to have extras to share. Most of them don't even know we are doing this challenge. Imagine what would happen if people decided to share the abundance we have in the city of Fresno with the homeless. What about sharing the abundance we have in the United States with other countries that are experiencing food crises? Could be revolutionary. I have this feeling this week is going to teach me a lot more than just how I can save a few pennies eating out of my pantry.

Ok, on to dinner. One of the items I discovered when menu planning was a box of whole wheat lasagna noodles. I decided to dig out a recipe I created last winter and try it again with what I had on hand. First, I had to consider the sauce. I didn't have any tomatoes (fresh or canned) so I had to use two cans of organic tomato sauce instead. That was easy enough. I also substituted sliced zucchini from lunch for the mushrooms and chopped swiss chard instead of the purple kale. We didn't have ricotta cheese or anything really close so we tried the lasagna without it. The result was a really yummy entree. The most amazing part of the meal is that my parents joined us and my carnivore of a father actually gobbled up two slices of my mom's homemade wheat bread and two servings of lasagna and then said, "I'm full!" He didn't even realize he had just eaten a mean VEGETARIAN lasagna. Mangia! Mangia!

Don't worry meat-eaters: we have no intentions of going totally vegetarian. Over the last two years we have taken "baby steps" to eating more healthy. We have seriously amped up our daily intake of vegetables and fruits and taken our carnivore tendencies down a notch but we still eat meat. We are just attempting a vegetarian meal once or twice a week to save money, clean out our systems and fight the bad guys (sickness and disease). I like to think of it as a part of prevention rather than paying the big bucks in doctor bills and meds later.

A Note from our Nutrition Guy (aka my Hubby):

What a lot of people don't realize is that our bodies need foods that are filled with nutrients, not just calories. For example, a bowl of raspberries and a bowl of Oreo cookies may have the same amount of calories but the amount of nutrients they contain are drastically different. Nutrients provide more than just energy; they also fight the diseases and chemicals we encounter daily in our environment.

Raw leafy greens have the highest nutrient density of any food. Our family tries to incorporate a serving of raw leafy greens in our menu each day. They are kind of like the superheroes of food. Examples include Swiss chard, kale, spinach, collards, parsley, romaine and more. In this day an age, you don't need to do it Popeye-style and force down a can of spinach. Instead think of creative ways you can incorporate leafy greens in your regular meals. We sneak a handful of greens in our morning smoothies, chop and add them to soups and layer them in lasagnas. Then, of course, there's always the classic salad option.


*Today's featured recipe was created in the kitchen using what we had on hand. I've seen lots of chefs do a kind of zucchini appetizer or pizza like this but I wanted to try for a new crust. After reading several recipes, I put together this one which incorporates spelt flour for added nutrition. The dough was surprisingly tender and easy to make. And the whole ordeal is quite cheap but elegant enough for a fancy holiday party.

Zucchini-Garlic Flat Breads
Makes 2 flat breads, 9-inch diameter
Ingredients:

Crust:
-3 cups unbleached flour (Trader Joe's chemical-free brand)
-1/2 cup spelt flour (bought in bulk from Winco)
-1/2 teaspoon quick-rising active dry yeast
-1 teaspoon honey
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2 teaspoons sea salt
-1 cup warm water

Toppings:
-Zucchini, thinly sliced
-5-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Combine all crust ingredients in a heavy duty mixer (like Kitchenaid). Using dough hook, mix together on low speed until dough comes together and away from the sides of the bowl (approximately 2 minutes).
2. Remove hook and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for 20 minutes.
3. Reattach dough hook and beat dough for 5 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise for 1 hour until dough puffs.
4. Divide dough in half. Refrigerate for later or roll out on a floured pizza pan or stone.
5. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, add toppings to flatbread dough.
6. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes or until dough is golden brown and cheese is melted.
7. Serve plain, cut into wedges or drizzle with a favorite sauce like honey mustard or Goddess dressing.