Inspire New Recipes for Spring 2018

I am so glad it is finally the spring season. While the weather outside disagrees with what the calendar says, spring is here and I'm more than ready to celebrate. As I have expressed on this blog, spring is the time of the year for new beginnings--a fresh start.

This includes introducing new recipes for the spring 2018 season. Because Easter is this upcoming Sunday, I thought I would offer my favorite dishes to bring to family gatherings or church lunches after services. You won't disappoint anyone when you bring these dishes to your gatherings.

Take a chance with these recipes. And who knows, you might even inspire others to try them at the next celebration.

1. Deviled Eggs 

Deviled eggs (photo/Kasy Long)

Deviled eggs are an easy appetizer to offer at your Easter lunch. Your guests won't need plates or silverware to enjoy the classic spring food. They can just pop the eggs into their mouths and carry on with the conversation. It's probably the easiest appetizer you can prepare for this time of the year, and most guests love deviled eggs.

This recipe makes a dozen deviled eggs. To prepare this dish, you will need:

• Six eggs
• Yellow mustard, approximately one or two teaspoons
• Paprika 

Boil the six eggs on the stovetop for about five to seven minutes, and then allow time for the eggs to cool. Remove the shells and cut the eggs in half to make a dozen deviled eggs. 

Remove the cooked yellow yolk of the egg and set the rest of the eggs aside in a bowl. Chop the yellow eggs in a bowl and add enough yellow mustard to make a mixture. I recommend about one or two teaspoons. In addition, I add a few drops of pickle juice and a "dash" of sugar to this mixture. 

Then, spoon the egg mixture back into the white egg halves. Sprinkle paprika on top of the deviled eggs for a finishing touch. Now your guests will be ready to enjoy this delicious appetizer dish while they wait for the main course to be served! 

2. Heavenly Salad 

My family's recipe for heavenly salad (photo/Kasy Long).

This dish is an oxymoron to "deviled" eggs. Serving deviled eggs and heavenly salad at your Easter brunch is definitely humorous, but you won't be disappointed making this dish. 

Now, you're probably wondering: I've never heard of heavenly salad. What is it? 

It's a family recipe, so I'm inviting you to be a member of our family with this dish! My mother told me that my great-grandfather started calling this salad "heavenly salad" because it tastes "like Heaven on Earth." That's certainly a compliment to my great-grandmother's cooking, and the recipe has stayed in our family ever since. 

This salad can be served complimentary to your main dish, or it could even pass for a dessert. I've seen members of my family save the salad to eat after the main course. Regardless of when people eat the salad, you will definitely want to prepare it this spring season. 

To make this salad, you will need: 

• One to two lbs. of red seedless grapes 
• Three stalks of celery 
• Three cups of miniature marshmallows 
• 1/2 cup of chopped pecans 
• Eight ounces of Cool Whip 

To make this salad, you will first slice the grapes in half and chop the celery stalks. Combine those in a large serving bowl. Then, add in the marshmallows and pecans. Stir to combine and then you will stir in the Cool Whip to complete the dish. 

See? The grapes and celery are a reason some people may eat the salad with the meal, but the sweet marshmallows and the chill Cool Whip is another reason some prefer to save the salad for a dessert dish. No matter when people eat the salad, they always love it! 

Enjoy this family recipe...from my family to yours. 

3. Baked Ham with Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze 

Baked ham with pineapple brown sugar glaze
(photo/Kasy Long).

Ham is a traditional Easter dish. You serve turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and you serve ham at Easter. That's just how it is and how it will always be. This year, I found a new baked ham recipe with a pineapple brown sugar glaze that I had to try. I was pleased to find that the glaze was sweet, but it didn't overpower the ham--the star of the dish. 

This is an impressive main course for Easter, so here's to hoping you will enjoy this recipe. To prepare this dish, you will need: 

• One bone-in fully cooked spiral cut ham 
• One cup pineapple juice 
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar 
• One teaspoon of honey 

Take the ham out of the refrigerator about two hours before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. Remove the ham from the packaging, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Place the ham in a deep baking dish with the fat side up. Bake the ham in a preheated 325-degree oven for about one-and-a-half hours. 

(photo/Kasy Long)

To make the glaze, combine the pineapple juice, brown sugar, and honey in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the pineapple juice is reduced by half. The glaze should be thick and syrupy. If not, add more brown sugar to thicken the glaze. 

After the ham is baked, carefully remove it from the oven. Brush the glaze onto the ham and return to the oven to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 160 degrees. 

Pair this dish with green beans and roasted carrots, and then you're good to go with this delicious main course for your Easter dinner. 

4. Twice Baked Potato Casserole 

This potato casserole is the perfect side dish for a spring dinner. I'm a big potato fan. I don't care how the potato is prepared--baked, mashed, fried, or scalloped--I'm ready to dig in and enjoy. 

I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for this dish--only tweaking it a bit for my preferences. Below is my version of the twice baked potato casserole. To make this dish, you will need: 

• 16 russet potatoes
• Two sticks of butter
• Two cups of sour cream 
• Two cups of grated Cheddar cheese 
• Two cups of skim milk
• Six green onions, sliced 
• 1/2 cup of bacon bits 

Twice baked potato casserole (photo/Kasy Long)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the potatoes in foil, like you would prepare baked potatoes. Bake the potatoes until they're tender, usually about 45 minutes to one hour. Remove the potatoes and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. 

Slice the butter and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the bacon bits and sour cream. With a knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides into the mixing bowl. Smash the potatoes with a potato masher. You will get a workout preparing this dish! 

Add the cheese, milk, and sliced green onions to the bowl and mix everything together. Butter a baking dish and then spoon the mixture into the dish. Top the casserole with more grated cheese, if you prefer, and bake until warmed through--about 25 to 30 minutes. 

You will love this dish if you're a potato fan, like me. You won't be disappointed this spring season, and I'm sure your guests won't be either! 

5. Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting 

When I was thinking about which recipes I wanted to include in this blog post, I was struggling thinking of a spring dessert. I thought about making Angel food cake, but I'm not the biggest fan of that dessert. 

Then it hit me: lemon cake. Lemon layer cake with lemon cream cheese frosting is hands-down the best lemon cake I've ever eaten. Every bite bursts with lemon flavor, and what's better to have in spring than fresh lemons? 

This recipe is so easy to make and it's so moist. You'll love it! To make the lemon cake, you will need: 

• Two and 1/4 cups of cake flour 
• One tablespoon of baking powder 
• One and 1/4 cups of skim milk 
• Four large egg whites 
• One and 1/2 cups of granulated sugar 
• Two teaspoons of grated lemon zest
• One stick of unsalted butter



Lemon cake (photo/Kasy Long)

• 1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8x2-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, then butter the parchment. 

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites. 

Place the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and beat on medium speed for three minutes, until it's light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon extract. Beating on medium speed, add one-third of the flour mixture, then half of the egg/milk mixture and beat until everything is combined. 

Still beating on medium speed, add the next third of the dry ingredients, then the remaining eggs/milk. Beat until the batter is smooth, then add the remaining dry ingredients. Beat for two more minutes on medium speed until the batter is well combined. 

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake is well-risen. One trick I have learned from my mother is to insert a fork in the middle of the cake. If the fork comes out clean, then your cake is baked perfectly! 

Set aside the cakes to cool for about five minutes. Now comes the tricky part: taking the cakes out of the pans. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it. Gently invert the cakes into your hand so they come out of the pans, remove the paper liner, and place the cakes on a wire rack to cool. 

To prepare the frosting, you will need the following: 

•  Eight ounces of cream cheese, softened 
• One stick of unsalted butter, softened 
• Two and 3/4 cups of powdered sugar, sifted 
• Two tablespoons of lemon juice 
• One tablespoon of freshly grated lemon zest 
• One teaspoon of pure vanilla extract 

Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth (about three minutes). Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add the powdered sugar, one teaspoon of lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Once the sugar begins to incorporate, increase the mixer to high speed and beat for three minutes. Add the remaining lemon juice to thin the frosting, if you prefer. 

To frost the cake, place one layer of your cake on a cake stand. Evenly cover the top with your lemon cream cheese frosting. Place the second layer on top and cover that with more frosting. Spread the frosting on the sides of the cake. Decorate as you desire. For example, I added more lemon zest to the top of the cake and two lemon slices. You can do whatever you want. It's your cake! 

Now, you can dig in and enjoy this perfect spring dessert! Isn't it delicious? 

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I didn't invent these recipes, but they are my versions. The only recipe I have never changed is my family's heavenly salad. How could I change the recipe my great-grandparents and grandparents perfected? But, I hope you feel inspired to try these dishes. There's no better feeling than sitting outside on a warm spring day, eating a slice of fresh lemon cake, and feeling overjoyed that the spring season has finally arrived. 

If you make any of the dishes, share your pictures with me through social media on Facebook (@kjlsdiary), Twitter (@kjlwriter), and Instagram (@kasyjlong1950). I look forward to seeing your dishes! 

-KJL-