Over Easter weekend we were rather busy!!  But it was all good busy.  We hosted people in our home every night of the weekend as well as earlier in the week for gardening in our backyard {more on that later this week!}.  Needless to say a lot of laughter, great conversation and FOOD was in abundance in our home.  I thought I’d hilight some of the recipes we ate as well as a view of our table on the one night we had a large potluck.

See how we used wild flowers from our backyard and tea lights both in small canning jars?  It was very simple and yet it brightened up the table without taking up a ton of space!  Very frugal but pretty.

Homemade Rolls:

The original recipe comes from Finding Joy in My Kitchen, but I took it and made a few adjustments that worked for us.  Here is the recipe variation that we use:

Crock Pot Roast Chicken:

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 of an onion, diced
• 1 tsp. each of oregano, sea salt, cracked pepper, parsley, garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. of paprika
• A dash each of cayenne and chili powder

Empty the cavity of the chicken and fill it with as much diced onion as you can.  If you still have onion leftover, sprinkle it around the bottom of the crock pot.  Mix all the spices together and rub them all over the outside of the chicken.  Place the chicken in the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours.  It’s so simple and you can do it at the last minute (like I did!) and still have a really yummy dinner.

Apple Zucchini Squares:

I’ve just linked up the recipe because it’s one that I’ve posted before!  It’s a DELICIOUS but nutritious dessert that we love around here.  It was a big hit for those who shared in Easter Sunday dinner with us!  Go and make it – NOW!!  Oh, and don’t forget the cream cheese frosting.

Squash Mac ‘n’ Cheese:

We have our favourite recipe for mac ‘n’ cheese thanks to our friend Tammy, but I vamped it up for Easter weekend by adding in pureed squash and some herbs to add some extra nutritional oomph!  Here is the recipe after we adjusted it a bit:

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tbsp. basil
• 1.5 cups of milk (I used almond milk)
• 2 cups of pureed squash (cooked of course!)
• 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups of small pasta, cooked
• 1.5 cups of additional shredded cheese for topping

Melt butter and blend in flour and seasonings.  Add milk and squash and cook, stirring constantly until thickened.  Remove from heat and add in cheese.  Stir until smooth.  Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.  Mix the pasta and sauce together and pour into a 2 qt. baking dish.  Top with additional cheese and bake in 400F oven for 20 minutes. It tastes just like mac ‘n’ cheese and no one is the wiser because the colour of the squash looks just like cheese! Tricky…  :)