Easter Dinner

What did your family eat for Easter Dinner (or lunch, or brunch, or however you do it?)

We went to my parents' house, and my sister and niece came over also.

We had a spiral cut ham from Heavenly Ham & a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

I made my world famous Potato Salad, and a veggie & dip tray. My daughter Shelbie made her specialty, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars.

We also had macaroni & cheese and green beans.

My mom made a dessert that involves angel food cake, cool whip, and pineapple chunks. It's really light and good. She also bought some cupcakes.

Oh, and of course, we had devilled eggs!

It was all delicious. Tonight for dinner, I'm heating up the leftover ham. I've got fresh green beans & new potatoes from the farmer's market simmering on the stove right now, and we're having rolls too.

I'm getting hungry!!

Tell me about your Easter Meal!

What's Cookin' this Weekend?

Here's what's cooking at Dysfunction Junction....

Dinner:

Cheeseburger Pasta from Recipe Shoebox

1 box (12-ounces) penne pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 can (14-1/2-oz.) diced tomatoes
2 Tbs. prepared mustard (or less if you don't like mustard)
3 Tbs. ketchup
3 Tbs. dill pickle relish
1-1/2 tsp. steak seasoning (I used McCormick Montreal steak seasoning)
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
chopped green onions, for garnishment (optional)

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the tomatoes, mustard, ketchup, relish, steak seasoning, and seasoned salt.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered , for 5 minutes.

Stir in drained pasta.

Cook for 1 minute more. Sprinkle with cheese.

Remove from heat; cover and let stand until cheese is melted.

*Southern Loving's review: OFF THE CHAIN. This is one of the best dishes I've made in a LONG time! We absolutely LOVED it. It's super easy & super quick.

Dessert:

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies from Simply Yum Food

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

Your favorite or use mine-

1 1/2 C butter, softened

2 C sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

5 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Mix the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add in the dry ingredients and then chill for a few hours.

After it has chilled take it out and roll it into a large rectangle. Spread butter all over it and then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up the rectangle and slice cookies about 1/4-1/2 in thick. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Cool on a rack and then frost with your favorite cream cheese icing.

My cream cheese icing was:

8 oz cream cheese

1 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c water

Mix until smooth

*Southern Loving review: Slap Ya Mama! I need more practice with rolling out the dough, then rolling & slicing the cookies, but they were very, very good. I can't wait to make them for our next church event or family gathering!

The recipes are from the blogs; the photos are mine.

Santa Fe Taco Mac

While reading my friend's blog, A Nut in a Nutshell, I came across this recipe for Santa Fe Taco Mac.

We don't usually have Mexican dishes with pasta, so I thought this sounded different, yet yummy!

I decided to make it for dinner tonight, as well as share it with you.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef 1 can pinto beans 2 cups cheese (either mexican or cheddar) 1 container Santa Fe Blend Philadelphia Cooking Creme 1 16 oz pkg elbow macaroni 1 packet taco seasoning mix

Optional ingredients: Tortilla chips, jalapenos, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning mix. Set aside.

Boil macaroni as directed on package; drain. In a bowl, mix pasta, cooking creme, 1 cup shredded cheese, ground beef, and 1 cup rinsed and drained pinto beans.

Put mixture into large casserole dish and top with remaining cup of shredded cheese.

(If making a vegetarian version, you may want to add some chili powder for additional flavor.)

Bake covered for 20 to 30 minutes.

It was a hit! It will definitely be added to our regular menu.

*Southern Loving note: I added onions to my ground beef, and I used black beans instead of pinto, just because we like them better! As for the optional additions, we had sour cream, chips & salsa, and we had corn on the side.*