Easter Egg Cake

Recipe 44...if you can call it that, haha.

Okay, so this really isn't a recipe per-say. It's a super cute way to add a little flair to your dessert, and sure way to get everyone complimenting your creativity. Because I used box cake mix and pre-made icing, this recipe really couldn't be any easier.

1 box          Duncan Hines white cake mix, prepared as per package instructions & divided evenly into 4 bowls
2 cans         Duncan Hines cream cheese white icing
                  food coloring (red, blue, green, yellow)
                  chocolate mini eggs
                  round sprinkles in light easter colors

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare and divide the cake mix into 4 bowls. Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring to one batch of cake mix. Stir to make a pink base. In another bowl, add equal parts blue and red coloring to make a purple base. Add green to another batch of cake mix and yellow to the last remaining batch. Pour the batter into 4 round cake pans and bake for about 15 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place cakes onto a rack and allow to cook for about 30 minutes.

Decide on the order you want to assemble the cake and stack them, spreading a layer of icing in between each layer. Ice the cake and arrange mini-eggs around the bottom and tops, and then shake some sprinkles on top! Piece of cake ;) Enjoy!

Artichoke Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Recipe 42.
*recipe from Canadian Living, April 2011 issue
Happy Easter all! I had the honor of hosting Easter dinner for my parents & the bf's parents. On top of the fact that it was my first time hosting a holiday, it was also the first meet & greet for our parents! Talk about stressful- but very successful! We all had a great time and the meal came out perfectly! I took the safe route by sticking to ham & pork tenderloin (my chicken luck has been coming up short lately). Everyone raved about this pork tenderloin, enjoy!

2- 1lb               pork tenderloins, butterflied (you can google ways to do this but if you bat your eyelashes and smile                        ever so sweetly, your butcher will do this for you!)
1 pkg               baby spinach
3 T                  extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves            garlic, minced
1 leek                thinly sliced, white and light green parts only
1 can                 artichokes, drained, pressed & sliced
1 cup                shredded Gouda cheese (Tip: Freeze the gouda for 30 minutes prior to shredding. It'll be much easier)
3/4 cup             fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup             parmesan cheese
1/3 cup             chopped fresh italian parsley

In a dutch oven, cover and cook spinach with 2 T of water over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until wilted. Remove from heat and drain well. Set aside in a large bowl to cool.
In the same pan, add olive oil, leeks and garlic. Saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add to bowl with spinach.
Stir in artichokes,cheeses, parsley and bread crumbs. Season with salt & pepper. I made this stuffing ahead and put it in the fridge until I was ready to put the tenderloin in the oven. It's safe to do this for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the butterflied tenderloins onto a clean cutting board and mound a heaping portion of the stuffing mixture in the centre of each. Pressing the stuffing helps you get more of it in there! Roll the sides of the tenderloin tightly together and tie with string. Season the outside of the pork with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a roasting pan and bake until the juices run clear and the temperature reaches 160 F. Yup, I got my hands on a meat thermometer the time. About an hour cooking time. Let rest on a cutting board loosely tented with aluminum foil. Slice into 6 pieces and serve!

day 18, recipe 17: honey glazed ham

Easter is coming & if you don't have a huge family to feed- or just don't want to be bothered with the whole turkey 'thang, ham is a great alternative. You can buy fully cooked, smoked hams for about $8, that'll more then feed two people. I even had a little bit left over to scramble into some eggs this morning. This was good but to be honest, smelled horrible the first few hours. The cider vinegar was such a strong odour that when I actually tasted the glaze overtop the ham, I was shocked that it wasn't more dominant. My "glaze" didn't thicken up during cooking, so it was more just a liquid to boil & give extra flavour. I sliced up the ham after 6 hours and returned to the slow cooker for another 30 minutes on high so that each slice would be fully glazed. Mmm. Definitely a keeper, I only wish I'd saved it for Easter now.

4-5 lb              ham, boneless or bone-in (smoked, fully cooked is what I used)
1/4 C               butter
1/4 C               cider vinegar
1/4 C               honey
1 t                   Worcestershire sauce
1 T                  brown sugar
2 t                   dried thyme

Put your ham into your slow cooker. Melt the butter in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and add vinegar, honey, worcestershire sauce, sugar & thyme. Mix together, pour over ham and turn slow cooker on to low for 6-7 hours. The ham bastes itself, and turns out awesome! I rotated my ham a few times during cooking, and spooned some of the juices overtop each time.