For the Love of...

Food!

Mike and I are both food lovers, in case you didn't already know that. I love to cook, Mike loves to eat. We both come from a family of really great cooks, and people who appreciate good food. So, it's no wonder that we celebrate everything with a fantastic meal.

I'm so excited for Easter this coming weekend. It's one of my favorite holidays. So, I've been busily thinking up a menu and spent last evening with my grandma to figure out who was bringing what. It's always a challenge for me to give up control of the cooking, even though I grew up with holiday meals being potluck style. I just want to provide for everyone when I can and allow them to enjoy the holiday without having to go to the trouble of cooking.

So, here what we'll be eating Saturday evening:

Cheddar bay biscuits
Creamed spinach crescent rolls
Glazed ham (I'm still deciding - honey or cherry - any thoughts??)
Baked mac & cheese
Green bean casserole (of course - holiday staple!)
Dad's cheddar corn bake
Twice baked potatoes
Italian veggie pasta salad
Deviled eggs (it wouldn't be Easter without them)
Grandma's orange jello salad (known affectionately as "roofing tar" in our family)
Other Grandma's watergate salad (known affectionately as "green stuff" in our family)

And for dessert: cheesecake (I'm still torn between strawberry or peach)

What do you think? I'm pretty sure we'll all be stuffed by the end of the day!

I'm so very blessed to have the family situation that I do when it comes to holidays. First of all, I adore my in-laws. I think they're just the greatest people I could possibly imagine and I love spending time with them whenever I get the chance. We will be having lunch with them on Sunday afternoon, so I'm planning on bringing the pasta salad and some ham & pickle roll-ups for that dinner.

I also love the way my family comes together for holidays. We don't always see each other often, so I feel truly blessed to go home and see everyone (or have them to our house if they can). What I've always thought was cool was that we usually combined holidays when we could for both sides of the family. My mom's family is always welcome at my dad's family, and now as we're older, I really appreciate seeing all of my grandparents in one room and having a big holiday meal with them.

I hope everyone has a blessed holiday and can enjoy some time with family, friends, significant others, and some spectacular food!