Inspire New Recipes for Spring 2021

Spring is associated with many events: Easter, Mother's Day, Cinco de Mayo, the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, Memorial Day, high school and college graduations, weddings, and more. Spring is still here, and it's a wonderful season for refreshing food. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables that add bright colors to your recipes--because we deserve fun, flavorful food right now. 

Many of the following recipes are appropriate for any upcoming holiday this season. You can bring these dishes to family gatherings, a social luncheon, a spring picnic, or just to eat at home. You won't disappoint anyone with these recipes. Take a chance with these dishes. Who knows? You might even inspire others to make their own versions of the food. 

1. Sun Tea Punch

Sun tea punch (photo/Joseph C. Garza).

Every spring picnic needs tea or lemonade for a refreshing drink. It's a simple starter to the meal. This recipe for Sun Tea punch (inspired by Reese Witherspoon's Whiskey in a Teacup) has Southern flavors, with lemonade, Sun Tea, orange juice, cinnamon, and a sprig of mint. It's a simple tea punch, but it's delicious, especially paired with chicken and vegetable casseroles. 

To make this tea recipe, you will need the following ingredients: 

(photo/Joseph C. Garza)

• 8 black tea bags, such as orange pekoe 
• 1 gallon water
• Lemonade
• Orange juice
• Cinnamon (dash)
• Sprig of mint

Prepare the Sun Tea by placing the teabags in a gallon-sized Mason jar and fill with water, letting the tags hang over the lip of the jar. Top with the lid and screw on the ring. Set the jar in a sunny area outdoors and let it brew for about four hours. 

Make the Sun Tea punch by mixing equal parts Sun Tea, lemonade, and orange juice. Add a dash of cinnamon and a sprig of mint. Serve over a plentiful amount of crushed ice or ice cubes. Yes, it's that simple! 

2. Zucchini Bread 

Zucchini bread.

Zucchini has become a popular fruit in recent years. It's healthy but also a flavorful ingredient in several classic recipes, including bread. Zucchini bread is delicious! It's sweet and incredibly moist, meaning you can eat the bread as leftovers for a few days after you bake it. Who doesn't love that? 

Everyone loves a good bread recipe, and this zucchini bread is one of the best. You will want a second serving, and I don't blame you! 

To bake this recipe, you will need the following ingredients: 

• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups zucchini, finely grated
• 1 tsp. vanilla 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, and vanilla in a large bowl. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder) and add them to the zucchini batter. Mix until well incorporated. 

Pour the batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake for one hour, or until the bread is firm. Enjoy! 

3. Corn Casserole

Corn casserole.

Corn is a pretty simple ingredient for meals, but it's also delicious for a spring meal. This corn casserole recipe (inspired by Ree Drummond, AKA The Pioneer Woman) has fresh corn cut off the cob with butter, cream, and sweet bell peppers. Yum! This is a great side dish (with crunchy, crispy, creamy corn) to any spring entree. 

To make this casserole, you will need the following ingredients:

• 8 ears of corn, husked, kernels shaved off the cob 
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c. milk (I used skim milk.)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the corn and bell pepper in a mixing bowl. Add the butter, cream, milk, and salt and pepper. 

Pour into a buttered baking dish and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the casserole is hot and bubbly. Give it a stir before serving to coat the corn in the delicious cream and butter mixture. Enjoy!

4. Saucy Chicken

Saucy chicken.

Any chicken dish is perfect for the spring season. You can bake, grill, or fry chicken in various dishes--either with pasta, salads, or sauces. This includes a sweet sauce made of brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup. This recipe, inspired by L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Avonlea (featured in The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook), has the best sauce for baked chicken legs. It's a little messy, but it's worth it! 

NOTE: This recipe is great for grilled chicken, as well. 

For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients: 

• 2  1/2 lb. chicken pieces, preferably chicken legs 
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pull off any large lumps of fat from the chicken pieces. Arrange the chicken legs in a 9x13-inch baking dish and bake them for 40 minutes. 

While the chicken is baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low heat until the onion is transparent. This should take about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then, remove from the heat. 

Remove the baking dish from the oven. Spoon half the sauce over the chicken legs and put the dish back in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Remove the chicken from the oven. With tongs, turn the chicken legs over. Spoon the rest of the sauce on top and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy! 

5. Orange Angel Food Cake 

Orange angel food cake.

Is there anything better than an angel food cake? I don't think so! This is the perfect dessert for a spring picnic or lunch. It's a sweet, fluffy cake that also pairs well with lemonade.

This orange angel food cake is, well, heavenly. The glaze has sweet orange flavors and the cake itself is light and airy. The delicate cake, inspired by L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Windy Poplars (featured in The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook), is pristine white on the inside with a soft, light brown crumb around the exterior. Add orange flavors and you really are tasting a bite of heaven with this dessert. 

To bake the cake, you will need the following ingredients: 

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 10 or 11 egg whites, room temperature 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. orange extract
• 1 Tbsp. orange peel, finely grated
• 1  1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 c. granulated sugar 

You will need the following ingredients for the orange glaze: 

• 2 c. confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 orange peel, finely grated 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the cake, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside. 

Break the eggs and separate them, putting the yolks in a small bowl and the egg whites in a medium-sized bowl. Make sure there is no yolk in the whites. Discard the yolks, or save them for another recipe. Measure the egg whites for 1 1/2 cups and add them to a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract, orange extract, and grated orange peel to the egg whites. 

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until the egg whites are firm but still glossy. Add the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, to the egg whites. Continue beating until they cling to the sides of the bowl and are stiff but not dry. 

With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and confectioners' sugar mixture a little at a time. Do not stir. Spoon the batter into an ungreased tube pan (or a loaf pan). Cut through the batter with a metal spatula to release any air bubbles and gently smooth the top. Bake for approximately 45 to 50 minutes. 

Gently touch the top of the cake. If it springs back, it's done baking. If your finger leaves a dent in the cake, continue baking for another 5 minutes. 

Remove the cake from the oven. Turn it upside down on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for about an hour. During this time, you can make the orange glaze. 

For the glaze, add the confectioners' sugar and orange juice to a small mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract and stir. Add the grated orange peel to the glaze and stir until it's smooth. 

Slide the blade of a metal spatula around the sides of the cooled cake to loosen it from the pan. Turn the cake upside down and gently lift off the pan. Spoon the glaze on top of the angel food cake, spreading it out to the edges so the glaze will dribble down the sides of the cake. Enjoy! Don't be ashamed if you ask for a second serving of this cake. It's too delicious to resist! 

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I didn't invent these recipes, but I made adjustments. These are my versions, so I hope you enjoy the recipes at any gathering this spring season. There's nothing better than sitting outside on a warm spring day, drinking sweet tea, eating fresh baked chicken with corn, and a nice slice of angel food cake. Enjoy! 

-KJL-