Recently I got these Pioneer Woman mini pie plates. Cute, no?
We had a truly wonderful Easter holiday, and a particularly spectacular Easter dinner.
I don't say that to brag; I am a competent but not a gifted cook. I just do what's easy and tasty and basically foolproof and it works almost every time.
A lilac-scented candle decorated the air around our Easter dinner table
For our meat I decided on London Broil. I put it in the Crock Pot semi-frozen the night before, sprinkled the top with one packet each of au jus mix and Ranch dressing mix, and dotted it with a whole stick of butter, in pats.
I used a slow cooker liner for zero cleanup, popped the lid on, and put the crockery part back in the fridge.
Our London Broil, done in the Crock Pot, Mississippi Pot Roast style
On Sunday morning I reunited the crockery with the heat-up part and set it to high. It took a total of five hours to go from semi-frozen to fork-tender and mouth-wateringly delicious.
For sides, we had Crock Pot creamed corn: One two-pound bag of frozen sweet whole-kernel corn, one 8-oz block of cream cheese, half a stick of butter, three tablespoons of sugar, one-half teaspoon of salt, one cup of milk, and one-half cup heavy cream. Put it all in at once; you don't even have to stir until later.
Dagny swoons when she sees this Crock Pot creamed corn
I cooked it on low for about four and a half hours.
We also had mashed potatoes -- a staple -- but this time, I added a twist: To my usual big potful (about three pounds) of soft-cooked potato chunks I added one stick of butter melted with a generous splash of milk, some salt and pepper, a very large dollop of sour cream (I add a lot ... it may be as much as two cups), and a packet of onion soup mix.
My mashed potatoes are rustic: I leave the skins on and sometimes serve them right out of the pot
The onion soup mix is the new twist. I've never done that before but I will be doing it again.
The idea developed during a recent impromptu family meal that we all enjoyed at Erica's house.
Rhett was sick and I was at Erica's, helping her out. The rest of the family were at Wednesday night prayer meeting. Dagny was on spring break and did not have school that week so we decided to feed everyone when church was over.
I made my pineapple casserole in the charming deep-dish pie plate that Stephanie gave me for Christmas
Erica had some hamburgers in the freezer so we decided to bake those in the oven. I got started on the mashed potatoes.
When they were cooked and it was time to mash and season them, I discovered that Erica did not have quite enough sour cream to make mashed potatoes the way I usually make them.
She poked around in the fridge and found some onion dip that she had made with sour cream and onion soup mix just a few days earlier.
This bunny holds up these ceramic petit-four salt-and-pepper shakers every year
I added all of it to the mashed potatoes.
Wow. You'll want to be trying that.
So anyway, on Sunday I added the onion soup mix to our mashed potatoes and again, it was a big hit.
I nestled my lambie rubber stamp into this tiny Longaberger basket
I also made the traditional Easter pineapple casserole using this Southern Living recipe. It's fabulous and if you've never made it, you should correct that omission as soon as possible.
Generally speaking that dish is meant to be paired with ham, but we did not opt for ham this year and I can assure you that it's just as delectable served alongside London Broil and onion mashed potatoes.
Two of our precious beautifuls, in front of the Easter cross at church
(When making that recipe, I will say that I don't measure the cheese to one cup. I add more. I add less sugar, though. Just a sprinkle will do.)
I had made fresh bread and it was cut into slabs, with real butter to put on it.
For dessert I made two things: A vanilla pound cake using this recipe (only, I use three eggs instead of two) and glazed with confectioners sugar mixed with lemon juice; and
There may be better pound cake recipes, but none that are easier to make
Lime Cracker Pie. Which is basically the reason I am writing this post: to tell you about Lime Cracker Pie.
I happened to see this recipe on Instagram and knew instantly that it was my destiny to make it.
Since I'd never made it before and wasn't sure how it would turn out, I had the pound cake for backup.
This little pink wicker bunny comes out every year
It wasn't necessary. Lime Cracker Pie is one of the most heavenly desserts I have ever tasted.
You'll want to try this for one of your summer spreads. Maybe your Memorial Day cookout!
Without further ado, I give you:
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LIME CRACKER PIE
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
A bagful of limes. The bag I bought had nine limes and I used them all.
1 box (the kind with four sleeves) Original Ritz crackers. You could use club crackers.
2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
2 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
About 1/4 cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West lime juice
HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
Zest the limes until you’ve got at least one cup of zest. More is better.
Juice the limes and if necessary, add bottled lime juice to make one cup.
To a large mixing bowl add the sweetened condensed milk, the heavy cream, the lime juice, and a bunch of the lime zest (reserve enough for garnish). More is better.
Whisk the mixture by hand for about two minutes. It will thicken into a custard-like consistency (that will thicken a lot more in the refrigerator).
Coat the bottom of a baking dish with one cup of the lime custard mixture.
The dish you use is up to you but I used my 8x12 Pioneer Woman baking dish and it was the perfect size. I guess you could use a 9x13 dish but I think a slightly smaller one is ideal because it affects the thickness of the dessert.
Arrange a layer of Ritz crackers atop the custard layer. Put the crackers as close together as possible. (I used about 3 and 1/2 sleeves of Ritz total.)
Do another layer of custard and another layer of Ritz crackers and so on, until you have just enough custard to make the top layer.
Garnish with the remainder of the lime zest mixed with Ritz cracker crumbs.
Cover lightly with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
NOTES:
This recipe can of course be halved, and in that case would probably be just right for a deep dish pie plate or even an 8x8 baking dish.
I saw some versions of this recipe using cookies instead of crackers. Nope; too sweet.
Substitute lemons to get the same basic idea, lemon flavor … but the lime is sublime, haha.
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Lime Cracker Pie: I would rate it among the top three desserts I have ever made
Our weather on Easter was ideal: sunny and cool. A trifle breezy.
The day before, Saturday, we had a winter day. Seriously. The high was about forty-five degrees and it rained pretty hard for twelve hours straight. I had to turn the heat back on in the house.
I enjoyed it so much. I stayed in my comfy-cozies and baked and cooked all day.
In my next post, I'll tell you exactly how I make this irresistible no-knead peasant bread
On Easter morning it was still only in the forties when we left for church, and I did wear my faux-fur jacket and opera-length leather gloves, but when we got to church and TG let me out of the car at the door, I took those off because the sun was out and it was up to fifty degrees.
You can see by the picture of TG and me that it had warmed up considerably by the time we left to go home.
TG and me: This was our forty-fifth Easter together
After dinner with Audrey and Dagny, Cherica and baby Rhett stopped by. They'd been with some of Chad's relatives for Easter dinner.
Chad had some coffee and hung out with TG while the girls and I entertained the children.
Once Cherica and Rhett left, Audrey, Dagny, and I took a walk in the glorious spring weather.
Kiss another Easter goodbye
And now April is on the wane and I am already planning for Mother's Day.
But first, Allissa has a special birthday this weekend, and on Friday night we'll be meeting together in Charlotte for her party.
I'll tell you about that next week.
But first please tell me about your Easter, and the many blessings it held.
That will make me so happy.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Weekend
