Easter

Happy Easter, everyone! I have slacked off on blogging lately, yet again, due to something called my thesis, but I hope to blog more regularly once the Summer begins! For our first Easter, Derek and I stayed home and my parents and grandparents (mom's parents) came to us. I woke up early this morning to get things ready at the house, and was surprised that the Easter bunny, such a sneaky one, had come to visit! Reese's eggs (or any other holiday version of the Reese's cup) are my favorite!!

When my parents and grandparents got into town, they came to church with Derek and I at First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock. It was a packed and beautiful Sunday at First Church!

The banners at the end...kind of hard to see

All of us after church

Then we all came back to our house and had a long meal. It was great to catch up with everyone. We.were.stuffed!!

 

 First time to use some of our wedding gifts...on our itty bitty table :)

 

On the menu: 

Spinach salad with egg, bacon, & goat cheese, with a mustard vinaigrette

Peppercorn & Sun-dried Tomato Pork Tenerloin

Green Beans

Wild Rice

Deviled Eggs

Berry Trifle

Spinach salad with chopped boiled egg, bacon, & goat cheese

*modified from my pledge sister Kathryn Luttrell Wright's recipe

 

Mustard Vinaigrette:

3/4 cup EVOO

5 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (or fat-free sour cream)

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar (I used 1 Tbsp Splenda)

2 Tbsp chopped parsley (or 2 tsp dried)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Berry Trifle-hard to get a good picture of!

*Modified from Betty Crocker's Three Berry Trifle

Angel food cake- baked, cooled, cut into cubes

1 pkg fat-free white cholcolate pudding

1 1/2 cups cold milk

2 cups fat-free whipped topping, thawed

3 cups strawberries, sliced

1 cup blueberries

1/4 cup reduced-sugar strawberry jam

1/4 cup reduced sugar cran-raspbery juice

*Combined pudding mix & milk. Whisk until thickened. Fold in whipped toping. Mix jam & juice together and stir into fruit in a bowl. Let sit. Layer half of the cubes of angel food cake in bottom of a trifle bowl. Cover with half of the fruit mixture, followed by half of the whipped topping. Repeat. Garnish with fruit. 

Needless to say, we ate well this Easter Sunday. Now I am stuffed, exhausted from being hostess, and have lots of school work to do! A nap is sounding much better right now. I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and is as thankful as I am that he paid it all for us to live! Happy Easter!!