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[Disclosure: I am a paid spokesperson for ALDI, but the thoughts within this post (along with the tips I share below and on TV) are all my own. You know I love partnering with brands I love to help you live better, save money and make more memories with your family!]
It’s my privilege to share with you how to create an Easter family feast on a budget (with the help of ALDI). After all, ALDI is one of my favorite places to shop because I know I’m always going to find great-quality groceries at their everyday low prices without coupons.
A common complaint I hear amongst friends for not opening their home to guests around the holidays is that cooking for a crowd takes too much time and money. But I’m here to tell you today that preparing an elaborate Easter spread doesn’t have to be an expensive (or exhausting) endeavor.
With the recipes below, you’ll discover how you can prepare a delicious Easter feast for your family that doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, not only am I featuring options for a delicious, yet affordable, holiday meal, I’m also sharing how to create fun (& sweet!) Easter baskets.
ALDI helps you rethink familiar dishes and ingredients in an easy way to add that special touch to your meals while saving you enough to double the guest count. Plus, if you’re planning on baking for Easter, ALDI has a great selection of baking essentials, such as Baker’s Corner Powered Sugar, Flour and Baking Powder with some of the lowest prices around, so it’s a great place to stock up.
But if you don’t want to bake this Easter – no worries! Believe it or not, you never even have to turn on the oven with the menu below. Not only that, everything can be prepared ahead of time, so you can actually go to church on Easter morning and come back to a meal that’s ready to eat.
And isn’t that what the holidays are about? This Easter menu helps you spend more time with family instead of away from them in the kitchen.
Plus, I have tips for how to take the recipes a step further and even enjoy them as leftovers. Let’s get on to the goodness!
Slow Cooked Maple Ham
Not only will you free up oven space with this amazing sweet and savory ham, but you will have plenty for your main course AND leftover sandwiches later! This takes just 5 minutes of prep work and after 5 hours in the slow cooker, you’ll be able to feed 10 friends and family members.
Ingredients:
* 20 ounces Sweet Harvest Pineapple Chunks
* 8 pounds Appleton Farms Smoked Ham Butt
* 1 cup Specially Selected 100% Pure Maple Syrup
* 1 cup Baker’s Corner Brown Sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon Stonemill Essentials Cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon Burman’s Dijon Mustard
* 1 teaspoon Stonemill Essentials Ground Black Pepper
Directions:
1. Pour entire can of pineapple in bottom of large slow cooker. Place ham on top, flat side down.
2. In a small bowl, combine syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, mustard and pepper. Pour over ham.
3. Set slow cooker to low and cook for 4-5 hours.
4. Remove ham and keep warm. Skim fat off the top of remaining liquid in slow cooker.
5. Pour liquid into small saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cook until reduced to desired consistency.
6. Serve sauce on the side or heat oven to broil and glaze ham. Broil 3-4 minutes for a caramelized crust.
Tip: Serve leftover ham with extra glaze and some Burmans’ Dijon Mustard on L’Oven Fresh Hawaiian Sweet Rolls for a tasty snack or lunch the next day.
Snap Pea Salad with Deviled Egg Vinaigrette
Every Easter meal needs a spring salad that embraces the colors and freshness of the abundance of vegetables available this season. This salad omits lettuce and instead lets the vegetables shine, while still highlighting a favorite Easter dish in the dressing.
Ingredients:
* 1 Goldhen Large Egg, yolk only, whisked
* 1 tablespoon Burman’s Spicy Brown Mustard
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
* 1 tablespoon minced red onion
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* ¼ cup SimplyNature Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
* ¼ teaspoon Stonemill Paprika
* ¾ cup Carlini Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* Stonemill Iodized Salt, to taste
* Stonemill Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Directions:
For the dressing: In a large Mason jar with a tight lid, shake all ingredients together except oil, salt and pepper. Add oil, replace lid and shake until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the salad: In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss to coat with desired amount of dressing. Serve immediately.
Tip: Substitute your family’s favorite green vegetable instead of the snap peas; I used asparagus for the TV recipe, but I think green beans would work great as well!
Easter Baskets
There are treats for every taste bud at ALDI. I suggest going simple on the basket so what you put inside it stands out even more. And don’t forget the adults! We love sweet treats on Easter too. Some of my favorite Easter treats you can find at ALDI include:
* Moser Roth Chocolate (My favorite is Dark Chili)
* Specially Selected Milk and Dark Chocolate Covered Butter Cookies
* Southern Grove Yogurt Covered Raisins (They come in vanilla and dark chocolate!)
* Choceur Milk Chocolate and White Fudge Covered Pretzels
* Choceur Solid Milk Chocolate Eggs
For dessert, I’m simply serving Specially Selected Mini Eclairs on a cake stand and a platter of ALDI’s Specially Selected Continental Cookie Assortment.
Remember how I mentioned you never even have to turn on your oven? That’s true for dessert too. Here’s the breakdown for the whole meal:
Cut your veggies and make your dressing for the salad the night before, put your ham in the crockpot before you leave for church and pull out the Mini Eclairs from the freezer as soon as you get home. Minimum kitchen prep, but maximum flavor and family enjoyment!
For even more recipes, meal plans and how-to videos that are frugal and family-friendly, check out Aldi’s Blog. For more fun information and tips, “Like” ALDI USA on Facebook and follow ALDI.USA on Instagram & Twitter.
And if you’re already a fan of ALDI and want to share your own recipes, photos, tips and tricks, get social with them using the hashtag #ALDIgram.
Watch the segment from Better Kansas City below:
KCTV5
Recipes Courtesy of Chef Alyssa, ALDI Test Kitchen
