Easter meal

Happy Easter everyone! In our home the celebration included a visit to the Walkway Reflections at the Fort Bonifacio's High Street, and then some cooking on my part. The kids loved painting eggs, and we enjoyed watching them. It was the first time for Nigel and Amber to do something like this. We told them a week earlier, so they bugged us every single day since then. You should have seen their big eyes when we pulled out the colors and the boiled eggs. Wow! The colors of course ended up not just on the eggs but also on their faces and clothes, but everyone had so much fun!

As for my cooking... The main dish was supposed to be 'Sweet Lamb Curry' it turned out something completely different, coz neither lamb nor curry were available :) I'm proud to say though that I came with a really good alternative and it tasked really amazing. So here are the recipes...

Dish # 1 - Greek Pasta Salad

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 15 min Cooking Time 10 min

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon white sugar
2 1/2 cups cooked spiral macaroni
3 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup sliced red bell peppers
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 (4 ounce) can whole black olives
3/4 cup sliced pepperoni sausage, cut into strips

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper, and sugar. Add cooked pasta, mushrooms, tomatoes, red peppers, feta cheese, green onions, olives, and pepperoni. Toss until evenly coated. Cover, and chill 2 hours or overnight.

My experience: Doesn't take that long to make, and tastes really great. We left it in the fridge overnight, and wow all those flavors really blended well.
Our verdict: One of the best salads ever!

Dish # 2 - Ham and Potato Soup

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 20 min Cooking Time 25 min

1-3/4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons diced celery
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons diced cooked ham
1-1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons and 1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

My experience: Super fast and super easy and super tasty!!!
Our verdict: Matet loved it and said she will be adding it to her cooking routine. You should see my pleased face!

Dish # 3 - 'Sweet Lamb Curry' that turned into 'Sweet Beef Without Curry'

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 30 min Cooking Time 1 hr 30 min

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and black pepper to taste
2-1/4 pounds cubed lamb stew meat

1/4 cup butter, divided
1-1/3 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons curry powder
2/3 large Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored, and cubed
2/3 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup raisins
2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cucumber
1 can plain yogurt

Place the flour in a plastic bag; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the lamb, and shake until evenly coated with flour. Melt half of the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the lamb in batches until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; set aside.
Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining butter. Stir in the onions, and cook until the onions have softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, curry powder, apples, chicken stock, raisins, and browned lamb. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lamb is very tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the lemon juice and cook 2 minutes before serving. Serve with rice and cucumber (peeled and seeds removed) in yogurt.

My experience: OK, so that was the recipe for the lamb curry. Still wonder why no lamb available in Manila's supermarkets on Easter Sunday. All the lambs were slain... and cooked???? :) Anyway, here is how I remedied the situation: substitute lamb meat with beef sirloin thinly cut, and if you happen to run out of curry powder like I did, replace it with turmeric powder. It did not take 1 hour for the meet to cook - maybe 15-20 minutes, which is also cool if you are hungry.
Our verdict: The raisins and apples were so great with beef!!! Wow!!!

Dish # 4 - Fruit Salad

Serves 6 Time to Prepare 10 min

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 pound seedless grapes, halved
1-1/2 bananas, peeled and sliced
1/2 (8 ounce) container strawberry yogurt

In a large bowl, toss together strawberries, grapes, bananas, and strawberry yogurt. Serve immediately.

My experience: Here I go again with my substitutes. No freaking strawberries in the supermarket!!! Grrrrr! So instead, I put pineapple tidbits and diced apples. The result - perfection!
Our verdict: Could eat this all day long every day! Yummy!