This is a recipe for Pea Salad that I absolutely love to serve for Easter Dinner. It's a recipe I have found in my favorite Mennonite Cookbook, in a Company's Coming cookbook and in a number of other cookbooks that I have. Yes, I collect cookbooks - does this come as a surprise?

My favorite version is by my favorite cook, Lee Drummond (The Pioneer Woman Cooks). She is my inspiration and cooking hero, and although my blogs aren't as professional or lovely as hers, with as dynamic photos and excellent, humorous insights, I hope that one day I can grow up to be just like her :)

Seriously. 

So here is her most excellent recipe for:

Pea Salad

Ingredients

·  1/3 cup Sour Cream

·  1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise

·   Salt And Pepper

·  1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

·  4 cups Frozen Green Peas, almost totally thawed

·  8 slices Bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped

·  1/2 whole small red onion, halved and sliced very thin

·  6 ounces, weight Cheddar or American cheese, cut into small cubes

·  3 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Preparation 

1. Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and vinegar together to make the dressing. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
2. Stir 2/3 of the dressing into the peas until the peas are coated. Gently stir in the bacon, onion, cheese, and parsley until all combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours before serving. (Pop the extra dressing in the fridge, too.)
3. Remove from the fridge and stir in the rest of the dressing to your liking. Sprinkle with more parsley before serving.

So all you need now is a ham, potato salad or scalloped potatoes, a green salad and a lovely dessert like Crown Jewel Cake or Unbaked Cheesecake (aka Pineapple Dream) and you are all set for Easter dinner!

Easter Dinner Made Easy

Easter tradition means spiral-cut ham in our home!

We had a really delicious, simple Easter dinner this year, since it was at different times due to work shifts. We purchased a spiral-cut ham at Smiths, but it had a really delicious candy-apple glaze! What a treat!
   

The rest of the dinner was simple - home-made scalloped potatoes and green beans, with lemon meringue pie. Since we hadn't had a spiral cut ham for a year and a half, it was especially delicious. Good thing, because we'll be noshing on it for quite a while.

The scalloped potatoes are quite easy. You slice 6-8 peeled potatoes thinly and layer them in a greased casserole dish with thinly sliced onions. I used a red onion for flavor. Dot with bits of butter (about 1/4 cup total). Scald 1/2 - 3/4 c milk in a pot and stir in a paste made of 3-4 tbsp flour mixed with a bit of water. Heat just to simmering, until thickened. Pour over the potatoes and onions and sprinkle with about 3/4 c grated cheese. For more flavor, use sharp or extra sharp cheese. Bake in oven for an hour or more, until mixture bubbles over and around the vegetables and the edges are golden. The potatoes should be tender, but not mushy. They taste even better when reheated for another meal. 6-8 servings.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!