My Easter Menu

Easter is around the corner, and I am hosting a small gathering with my own family (6 people), my parents, my sister, and my niece. It should be celebratory yet also very doable. My mom always plans a big egg hunt for the kids, where she hides plastic eggs that are filled with candy and money, and everyone loves that.

AND, I love celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ! I thank the Lord for His sacrifice for us and for His victory that day - over sin and for all eternity!

My teen daughter has a lot of excitement and energy regarding the holiday, and she has been a large help with planning. She has ideas for decor, like carnations in mason jars and pastel banners, and has helped get everyone in our household interested in helping with at least one menu item.

So, Easter is a big thing around here, and with special occasions come FOOD!

Here's what's on the menu:

Ham
*Turkey Breasts
Smashed Potatoes
Broccoli Salad
Honey-glazed Baby Carrots
Farmhouse Bread
Fruit Salad

Strawberry Lemonade - My daughter makes fresh lemonade and blends up some frozen strawberries to mix inside.
Raspberry Party Punch

Brownie Pizza
*Peanut Butter Cookies

*These items are being brought by my family.

What's on the menu for your Easter?

Instant Pot Beef Stew

For Christmas, I received an Instant Pot, and I will have to do another post to tell you how I have liked it so far.

I finally made my first all-in-one dish the other day - Beef Stew - courtesy of Little Spice Jar. She calls it, "Irresistible Beef Stew", and she is right on with that! This stew was divine! We enjoyed it thoroughly!

Following is my version. I used different mushrooms, omitted the pearl onions, and used some seasonings from a homemade Ranch dip recipe... and I didn't even have all of those ingredients, but I put together what I could, and to be honest, I don't know if I would change a thing. The Ranch dips at the store have MSG in them, which I try to avoid in general, and homemade versions have dried buttermilk, and... well.... I was a bit hesitant to put that in my stew anyway.

We devoured this stew! Enjoy!

And of course, you have to make a big portion of mashed potatoes to eat with this! I am starting to believe this is really the only way to eat beef stew! ~smile~

Instant Pot Beef Stew
Original Recipe found here

2 pounds beef stew meat 

salt and pepper

2 T butter

2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 cups beef broth

8 oz. mushrooms, halved or quartered

3 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup pepperoncini, thinly sliced

1 T EACH - tomato paste and sugar 

2 T Worcestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 T dried parsley

2 t onion powder

1 t salt

1 t garlic powder

1/4 t black pepper

First, sear the meat. Season it with salt and pepper and then sear it by browning it on each side in melted better. You can do this in the Instant Pot on the saute setting or in a separate pan. 

Mix the 1 1/2 cups of beef broth and 2 T cornstarch in a bowl or large measuring cup. Whisk well until the cornstarch dissolves. I do this with a fork.

Put ALL of the ingredients in the Instant pot and put it on the Meat/Stew setting. Once pressure builds, it should say 35 minutes on the display. When finished, allow the stew to rest for 15 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.

VOILA! You have yourself a wonderful meal!

You can serve this with mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, crusty bread, and/or salad.