A monthly online magazine chock-full of insightful articles for busy mothers.

Holidays Home Easter Page

Easter at Babci’s was very special. Her enamel coffee pot on the back of the stove would be filled with chicoried black liquid, and the ham in the oven gave off a brown sugared warm aroma.

The colored Easter eggs were in a brown basket on top of a hand crocheted white doily right next to the yellow raisin bread. The polish sausage (kielbasa) was wrapped in tin foil and was slowly cooking along with the ham in the oven. Her pickled beets were everyone’s favorite…her recipe sits below for you. All of the food was fine indeed but the focal point in Babci’s kitchen was not the food so much as her love. Her easy smile, her selfless caring, Babci was the draw.

Pickled Beets

2 cans of Red Beets
2tbsp. of brown sugar
2tbsp. of cider vinegar
Touch of salt
Thinly sliced onions
A dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients together and place in a large glass jar…overnight in fridge. You may add whole hard boiled eggs that have been peeled. This colorful array makes a nice addition to your Easter festivities.

© 2000 Caroline Shaw

submitted by Charlotte J. Crockett

Irish Stew
3 to 4 lbs leg of lamb, cut into 1 1/2″ cube
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
1 to 2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, mashed & minced
4 medium potatoes, quartered
8 small white onions, peeled
1 package frozen peas, (16 oz)
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup milk
1/3 cup flour

Over medium heat, brown lamb in butter and oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add water, broth, and seasonings; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove surface fat. Add potatoes and onion; simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add peas and simmer for 5 minutes. Combine milk and flour; stir until smooth. Add to simmering stew and simmer for about 1 minute, or until thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serves 6.

About the Author: Charlotte J. Crockett is a 46 year old mother of 3 children and a grandmother of 4 boys…all under the age of 2. She has been happily married for 28 years to a wonderful man who spoils her rotten. She was born in Germany and spent the early part of my life traveling in Europe. She is bilingual. Besides English she also speaks, reads and writes German. Although she is getting rusty with it. She is a member of the National Gardening Association.

Join her Tennessee Gardener Email Forum.

by Michele Cooking-guru

Easter Brunch

Easter will be here soon. We get together for brunch with our family and enjoy Easter Egg hunts, visiting with each other, and great food. I love to bring an Oven Omelet dish. It’s quick, easy, and delicious.

Oven Omelet

1/4 cup butter, melted
18 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup chopped green pepper (optional)
1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups ham, cubed
1 small can mushrooms, sliced

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter and coat the bottom and sides of a 9×13 glass baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour into buttered dish. Bake approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until done.

Visit her website: Cooking-Tips.com. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for my free newsletter.

About the Author: Michele Cooking-guru, is a 39 year old wife and mother of two teenagers. She grew up doing a lot of cooking for her family, and then married into a large family that loves to get together. So of course, more cooking. She’s also the guru at http://www.cooking-tips.com. She’d like to share cooking tips and recipes with you You can reach her at cookingguru@yahoo.com and visit her website at:Cooking Tips and Join her fabulous My Life-Tips Newsletter