Week of Easter Menus

For our family, the center of the dinner is always ham, and it is always accompanied by candied sweet potatoes and asparagus.  The sweet potatoes are easy and delicious... but definitely not calorie friendly. The recipe is simple.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices and rinse them off.  In a large skillet place 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar.  Add a pinch of salt. Add the sweet potato slices and cook for about 45 minutes, occasionally turning the slices.  You want the sauce around them to be simmering, and these are at their best if they are just short of being burnt.  The sauce caramelizes around them. I use an electric skillet to free up some space on my stove top.

One thing is for sure, around here, where ham is the dinner centerpiece, and many many hard boiled eggs exist from all the Easter egg hunts, recipes for the next week revolve around ham and eggs.  in PA dutch country, pot pie is actually more like meat and homemade noodles, than a deep dish pie.  This dish uses us leftover ham broth, ham, and a half dozen eggs.  The other popular item to hit the menu is picked red beet eggs (one of our classic 7 sweets and 7 sours, though I have lived in PA dutch country all my life and have yet to see a table with 7 sweets and 7 sours).  Again, this is simple recipe:  1 cup sugar, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1c red beet juice (from the cans) and if you don't have enough juice, add water to get it.  For a dozen eggs, I use about 3 small cans of whole red beets.  Peel the eggs, and place in a large container with the beets.  Top with the sugar/beet juice/sugar mixture. This is best when it can sit a few days.  These eggs are great on their own, chopped into salads, or sliced and put on bread spread with some mayo.

Prices will follow later, but I will let you in on where some of the best deals are:

Target:  Eggs, 99¢ a dozen
Aldi's: Ham, shank portion 99¢/lb, butt portion $1.19/lb., sweet potatoes $1.19 for a 3 lb bag.
Giant: Butter, $2 a lb.

I will also being using canned beets I purchased for 45¢ a can from a store near my parents several months ago.  It helps to let others know you are bargain hunting.  This grocery store is far enough away that it doesn't make sense for me to go there, but my parents alert me of awesome sales and will pick up for me what I want.  I'm also not shy about asking for coupons I want that come out in the paper (I don't use many coupons from the paper, believe it or not). If I know a coupon is out there, generally putting a post on Facebook gets me the coupon from someone not using it.

And, I am still using cabbage from stocking up near St Patrick's day.  Wrapped in plastic wrap, heads of cabbage last for months in the refrigerator.  

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
oatmeal with brown sugar	bagel with peanut butter	yogurt w/fruit	1/2 PB&J sandwich	oatmeal with brown sugar	Ham, eggs, and toast	Homemade Latte
Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning
Banana	Carrots	banana	carrots	banana	NA	NA
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
Red Beet Egg Sandwich	Ham Salad Sandwich	Red Beet Egg Sandwich	Ham Salad Sandwich	Red Beet Egg Sandwich	Cook Out w/friend	EAT OUT
carrots	pickled red beets	carrots	pickled red beets	carrots	grilled hot dogs
orange	banana	orange	banana	orange	baked beans
					veggie, brownies made from a box
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
PA Dutch Ham Pot Pie	Judy & Bob's Beans and Rice	Ham and Green Beans	Ham Fried Rice	Ham and Sauteed Cabbage	Scrounge for leftovers	Chicken Corn Soup
coleslaw
Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack
yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	NA	NA
Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost
Total cost per week:

If you happen to be in the Gettysburg PA area this weekend, I'd love to have you visit my church, Freedom Valley Worship Center.  Services are listed above, and the church is located at:  3185 York Road (Rte 30), Gettysburg PA