 If there was ever a holiday that inspires me to want bring out my fanciest food - it would be Easter. I don't know what it is about this holiday that makes me want to shape rolls into bunnies, mold green coconut into birds nests and basket weave my pie crusts into beautiful culinary masterpieces but some of those ideas turned out better than others.🤣 Every year I feel like I have an epic fail in my attempt to put my best foot (food) forward for this special holiday meal but that hasn't stopped me yet.  I've served this lobster artichoke flatbread for Christmas AND Easter. It's that fancy.😅. Kidding. It really only LOOKS and TASTES fancy - its actually a fairly simple appetizer to make. I've even made the flatbread ahead of time so it's super easy to assemble and bake even on the busiest of holidays.  Lobster Artichoke Flatbread Flatbread 3/4 Tablespoon yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 2 Tablespoons olive oil 3 1/4 cups flour 6 cloves garlic, minced 4 Tablespoons olive oil 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 pound lobster meat 2 cup2 chopped artichoke hearts 4 Tablespoons parsley red pepper flakes 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
 Sprinkle parsley and red pepper flakes on top. Broil or bake until browned. 
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 Easter is a time for celebration. And what better way to celebrate than with the whole family gathered around the table together for a meal? Some families prefer Sunday brunch, others opt for an after church lunchtime meal and there are those who like to have a more traditional Easter dinner. There are no hard and fast rules for Easter dinner. I have a tendency to get carried away with Easter food preparations and I have to remind myself that the food really isn't the main event, the important thing is that we took time to gather with people that we love and we are blessed with the opportunity to share a meal together.  This year, if you're planning to serve a traditional ham or roast of lamb surrounded with comforting rolls, roasted potatoes, crowd-pleasing casseroles and plenty of seasonal vegetable options like asparagus, carrots and peas - this is the recipe for you. These olive oil mashed potatoes are a great dairy free option that pairs perfectly with any main course that you choose to serve. They're delicious, easy to make and as an added bonus gluten and dairy - free. win-win-win.  Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 pounds yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 " pieces 1/4 teaspoon + 2 Tablespoons salt
 Ciao!
 Easter is less than a week away and for a lot of us that means family gatherings, church services and big holiday meals. I recognize that Easter brings joy to some people and stress for others. And then there are those of us who feel blissfully stressed over all of the Easter holiday preparations.🙃 Hosting large holiday meals for family is not for the faint of heart so I hope that I can offer a bit of help to the Easter dinner hosts this week. I'll be sharing some of my favorite Easter recipes on the blog to help make your holiday meal prepping a little easier. To kick things off: Cranberry Orange Scones - a perfect compliment to any Easter brunch menu. Go ahead and make these early in the week, pop them in your freezer and you can cross Easter morning breakfast off your to-do list.  If you can't find fresh cranberries this time of year - substitute dried cranberries. And if you prefer - swap the orange zest for lemon or lime. What I'm saying is: make these your own. This scone recipe is basic. It's easily customizable. Chocolate chips more your style? Maybe white chocolate chips? Perhaps blueberry or raspberry scones are more your cup of tea. If you've got a favorite scone flavor - send it to me - I'd love to hear about your Easter scones.  Cranberry Orange Scones 2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons orange zest 1/2 cup butter, frozen 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 large egg 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 heaping cup frozen cranberries 1 Tablespoon heavy cream coarse sanding sugar Orange Glaze 1 cup powdered sugar 2–3 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
 Refrigerate 30 minutes. Separate slices slightly and bake 22-25 minutes at 400.  Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over cooled scones. Ciao!
 Last Fall we went to our very first Savannah Bananas game and I find it hard to put into words what it's like to experience this one of a kind baseball extravaganza but I will say that if you ever get the chance to go to a game ... GO!🍌⚾️ It's a version of baseball they call banana ball and it comes complete with Nana Bananas (dancing grandmothers), Man-ana cheerleaders (dads), Princess potassium (singing princess in a ball gown), choreographed dances performed by players, a high spirited umpire with his own style of dancing and the bananas pep band playing getting everyone hyped on the party plaza. Fans at the game can catch fly balls for an out so when we weren't trying to snag a fly ball, we were singing, dancing or playing games from our seats. We actually didn't sit much at all during the 2 hour game because we felt like we were part of the action.
The process of getting tickets to a Savannah Bananas game can be a little tricky but if you're lucky enough to get chosen in the ticket lottery, you should absolutely take advantage and experience banana ball. Last year the cost of a ticket was 25.00 and that included free parking, all we could eat from the concession stand and all of the festive party atmosphere that we could handle. 😂 I'm excited to say that we are going to be able to experience a second Savanah bananas game this summer - and bring some of our friends. This time it won't be in their home stadium in Savannah but we'll get to watch the Bananas play the Party Animals in a new city. 😅  So in honor of our upcoming trip to watch some Banana Ball, I think it's only fitting that I post a banana recipe. Banana bread recipes are a dime a dozen and I've tried so many of them to try and find the key to the "perfect" banana bread. The thing is - people are very specific about how they like their banana bread. There are people like me who prefer chocolate chips in their bread and others who wouldn't even think of eating a banana bread without nuts. Regardless of what you like IN your banana bread, I feel like all banana bread needs to have a lot of banana flavor and a nice not too dry consistency without being too mushy or too dense. It doesn't sound like a lot to ask for but I found it particularly hard to strike just the right balance of ingredients and baking times and temperatures to yield the perfect loaf. It's your lucky day because I feel like after years of banana bread baking experiments - I've finally come up with a recipe that is perfect for any banana bread lover. And and if you like, you can add chocolate chips or nuts to the batter. You could even add rolled oats to the brown sugar topping to make it even prettier if that's your thing. My point is - give this banana bread recipe a try. 🍌🍞  Banana Bread 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 cup brown sugar 1 Tablespoon vanilla 2 eggs 2 cups mashed bananas 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
 Bake 1 hour at 350.  Ciao!
 It's strawberry season in Georgia!! 🍓 I get absolutely giddy about strawberry season but I wasn't the first person in the strawberry field on the very first day that they opened but... I might have been in the top 25.🤣 There's just nothing that compares to the taste of a freshly picked strawberry.🍓
I feel like freshly picked berries taste waaaay better than grocery store strawberries plus I can pick my berries with a long stem which comes in super handy when I want to dip that delicious berry in a bowl of melted chocolate. 😅🍫🍓  A few of our choice, freshly picked berries inevitably end up covered in chocolate because honestly, what kind of crazy person doesn't like chocolate covered strawberries?😂 I also love a good strawberry shortcake and homemade strawberry ice cream as much as the next girl but I there's something special about enjoying the simple sweetness of the strawberries in ways that you might not expect. Incorporating them into recipes like strawberry butter, sangria or a vegetable salad, for example. 🙃 Breakfast is a great time to sneak in an extra serving a fruit into my diet. I'm a big fan of fruit filled muffins or pancakes and waffles topped with fresh berries.🥞🧇 I also enjoy having a slice of melon along with my turkey bacon and eggs in the morning.🥓🍳 And in my opinion, the only way to properly enjoy french toast is to sprinkle it with powdered sugar and lots of fresh berries - especially strawberries. If you want an over-the-top french toast casserole option - give my Croissant Bake a try. You will NOT be disappointed.  Croissant Bake 8 croissants Sliced in half lengthwise. 5 eggs beaten 1 cup half and half 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon zest of 1 orange 2 Tablespoons maple syrup ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 1 Tablespoon grand marnier For Topping French Toast Casserole powdered sugar fresh berries whipped cream maple syrup
 When ready to bake, remove dish from fridge and sit at room temperature for half an hour. Bake 25-30 minutes at 375.  Dust french toast bake with powdered sugar and serve with berries, whipped cream and pure maple syrup if desired.  Ciao!
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