The other day Eric and I were both trying to get work done on our laptops. I always work from home (we also have 4 young kids) and Eric of course works at work. Except now that we’re quarantined, we both work from home. Kinda. Eric turned to me after the 5th interruption from the 3-year-old and said, “I don’t know how you ever get anything done with all these kids interrupting you all the time.” You guys! It was a great moment. Every stay at home mom ever needs this kind of validation!
I mean don’t get me wrong, Eric is a super awesome husband who is incredibly supportive, but there is a difference between imagining what it feels like to be constantly interrupted when you have a deadline, and actually experiencing it! Although I have to admire his creative deflection methods. He is much more imaginative than I am. When Valentine, our 3-year-old, asked him to play “family family” the other day, he said “Okay, I’ll be the dad, and you be the mom. I have to work right now, and mom is in charge of cleaning up after everyone.” He conned her into picking up the entire living room by herself, because she was the mom. Impressive, right?
Well I hope you all are doing something fun today, like dying Easter eggs or making sugar cookies (tons of people are making those this weekend, they are the best sugar cookies ever and traffic on them goes crazy on every holiday, including Easter!) ooh or Empty Tomb Rolls! Those are really fun to make with kids.
Easter dinner for two (with leftovers)
A couple years ago my girl Chelsea posted this One Hour Easter Dinner and I’ve been wanting to try out my own sheet pan Easter dinner ever since! It’s such a great idea if you have a small family and are not getting together with extended family members.
And since this year, NOBODY is getting together with extended family (thank you Covid19), I thought this would be a good time to show you guys how to do a small batch holiday meal!
How to make a sheet pan Easter dinner
You do not need to buy an entire ham to enjoy ham. Shocking, I know!! Smoked ham is fully cooked when you buy it, even a large one. So when you roast it, you are really just warming it thoroughly and crisping the outside. And we can warm up ham slices just as easily! I bought a half-ham for this post, but you could easily buy a ham steak or ham slices. Grocery stores usually have lots of options this time of year. Even with grocery stores low on stock on basic items (still tough to find flour!), there were several brands and varieties of ham slices or sections to choose from.
(Here’s how thin your potatoes should be)
I adapted my favorite Baked Ham with Raspberry Chipotle Glaze to serve just a few people. And I adapted these Gruyere-Crisped Potatoes Au Gratin. to be baked on a sheet pan. Pair it with some roasted veggies and dinner is done!! Sweet and spicy ham, paired with gooey cheesy potatoes, and a simple honey lemon glaze to go over the asparagus and carrots. It’s so good!
(Here’s how to make the aluminum foil barrier so that the cream from your potatoes doesn’t get all over your carrots.)
This would also be a great Christmas dinner for two, or even Thanksgiving dinner for two. Technically the meal could serve more like 4 people, but you’re going to want leftovers, right? I mean holiday leftovers is basically part of what makes a holiday a holiday, in my opinion.
Easy Easter Dinner Menu Ideas
Here’s an Easter menu plan for your small-stakes Easter this weekend! Appetizer: Caprese Salad Skewers « light, fresh, and customizable to any size group. Main Dish: today’s Sheet Pan Easter Dinner. Or if you really like ham leftovers, make this Baked Ham with Raspberry Chipotle Glaze with these Gruyere-Crisped Potatoes Au Gratin. Jello: (what, this isn’t a meal category where you’re from??): Sea Foam Salad (goes great with ham) Rolls: Easy Fluffy One Hour Dinner Rolls « this recipe makes 12 rolls, perfect for a small group. Dessert: Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. Strawberry Lemon Shortcake. Rhubarb Custard Pie. The Best Homemade White Cake. Raspberry Cheesecake Bars. No Bake Cherry Cream Cheese Pie. The Best Zesty Key Lime Pie. Easy Cherry Pie Bars. The Softest Sugar Cookies of Your Life. Make one. Make them all! I don’t have any small batch desserts. You will just have to eat the leftovers for breakfast. Oh darn!
Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy being with your family and celebrating the resurrection!
More holiday meal ideas!
Baked Ham with Raspberry Chipotle Glaze « my favorite ham recipe to date! The recipe that today’s ham is adapted from. Gruyere-Crisped Potatoes Au Gratin « mu FAVORITE scalloped potato recipe of all time. Adapted this for today’s Easter meal. Sheet Pan Salmon with Creamy Scalloped Potatoes and Asparagus « I posted this a couple years ago. I was so delighted to learn that you can do scalloped potatoes on a sheet pan and the ratio of potato to cheese is even HIGHER. Yesss. Sheet Pan Rosemary Lime Chicken and Veggies « This is such a good dinner! Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella « a great vegetarian holiday meal option! One Hour Easter Dinner from Chelsea’s Messy Apron Honey Glazed Ham Steak Dinner for Two from Homemade in the Kitchen Easy Whole Day Christmas Menu from Jo Cooks
