Easter Dinner

Easter is my holiday to host at our house. So we usually have the family over, and it's up to me to plan the main meal and have everyone bring sides. I pulled recipes from Pioneer Woman, Pampered Chef, Taste of Home and Pinterest. Pulling out ALL the stops on this one.

The menu was:

Appetizers: Deviled eggs, hot spinach & artichoke dip, cheese tray with crackers, veggie tray, chips and dip, mini peanut butter cups.
Main: Spiral ham, grilled tri-tip, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted cauliflower, green bean casserole, rolls.
Dessert: Banana cream pound cake, Hershey's perfectly chocolate cake, pumpkin roll.

Let me tell you friends, if you've never hosted a family holiday at your home, where you make most of the food, it. is. exhausting. It takes A LOT of planning and prep work, so I'll give you some tips that I followed to help get everything done on time.

• 3-4 weeks in advance: Plan your menu. Decide what food you will provide, and what other members of your family will bring.
• 2 weeks in advance: Notify your family members what they need to bring. Make your shopping list.
• 1 week before: Go shopping for non-perishables. Most of the stuff should be on sale since it's the holiday. Buy the ham/turkey/meat. If you wait until the last minute, they might be gone!
• 3-4 days before: Go shopping for perishables. 
• Saturday before: Make chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. Make pumpkin roll. Make homemade peanut butter cups (Recipe below!).Boil eggs for deviled eggs. Cut cauliflower for roasted cauli dip. Wash potatoes. Make spinach dip, refrigerate with directions taped to dish:

While this may seem silly, it really helps. That way, when I got home from church

the next morning, all I had to do to get my appetizer going was to reach in the fridge, 

grab the stuff and throw it in the oven. Makes it so I don't have to go searching

again in the cookbook. (I used 3 different cookbooks, so this helped!)

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

• Morning of: Get up early, finish last dessert of Banana Cream Pound Cake (for the record, mine didn't look nearly as neat as this picture does.) Go to church.
• Come home, preheat ovens, stick ham in the oven. Make deviled eggs. Put out rest of appetizers: Spinach dip, veggie tray, deviled eggs, cheese tray, mini pb cups, chips and dip.

• 1 hour before eating: Dice and boil potatoes, make mashed taters. Roast cauliflower, set table,
• 1/2 hour before: Take meat out of oven/grill to rest. Make gravy. Finish any other food that hasn't been finished.
• ENJOY THE MEAL!

It is tons of work and I was SO tired when it was all over. But I enjoy it! 

As promised, here is the recipe for the peanut butter cups:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
Sea salt
Line a  mini muffin pan with liners (or if you don't have any, use small squares of waxed paper).
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter & peanut butter together for 45 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Add graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix to combine.  Distribute mixture evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set peanut butter layer.
After the peanut butter has chilled, combine chocolate and milk in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 25 second intervals until chocolate is just melted.  Stir until smooth.  Distribute chocolate evenly over the top of the peanut butter layer.  Sprinkle with sea salt and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.  Store covered in the fridge.