Easy Easter Eats: One-pan dishes to make hosting simple

Easy Easter Eats. Photo from Family Features

MISSION, Kan. – Even if Easter hosting duties fell on your plate this year and added one more thing to your holiday to-do list, that doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. After all, Easter is a time meant for fun and fellowship with the food just one part of the celebration.

Building the menu around simple, one-pan dishes can keep the focus where it needs to be: spending time and creating memories with family and friends. These dishes call for short lists of ingredients, many of which you may already have in your pantry, and simple preparation to create a full spread perfect for sharing with loved ones. Plus, using only one pan makes cleanup a breeze, so you can get back to the festivities quickly.

A dish like this Easter Roast lets you check both the main course and side dishes off your list, relying on the oven to do most of the work for you after some quick prep work. Similarly easy to prepare, these Refrigerator Rolls can also be made up to six days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to bake – a perfect complement to the savory roast and veggies.

Finish off your feast with an adaptable dessert like this Blueberry Crumble. Made using just five ingredients and ready in about an hour, you can swap the blueberry pie filling and yellow cake mix for any combination that suits your guests’ tastes like apple pie filling with spice cake or cherry pie filling with chocolate cake; the sky’s the limit when it comes to satisfying that sweet tooth.

For more Easter recipe inspiration, visit Culinary.net.

Easter Roast
Yield: 1 roast

Salt
            pepper
            garlic powder
1          roast (3 pounds)
1          bag (1 pound) baby carrots
1          bag (1 1/2 pounds) trio potatoes or potato of choice
3          cups beef broth
1          can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1          tablespoon garlic pepper
3          tablespoons brown sugar
1          onion, roughly chopped
1          bundle asparagus

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder over roast and rub into front, back and sides. Place seasoned roast in middle of large roasting pan.

Place carrots on one side of roasting pan and potatoes on other side.

In large bowl, mix beef broth and cream of mushroom soup with garlic pepper. Pour mixture over roast, potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle brown sugar over carrots and add chopped onion. Cover and cook 2 1/2 hours then remove from oven, add asparagus and cook uncovered 30 minutes.

Serve from pan or place on platter for more formal presentation.

Refrigerator Rolls
Yield: 18 rolls

2          packages yeast
1/2       cup sugar
2          cups lukewarm water
6-7       cups all-purpose flour, divided
2          teaspoons salt
2          eggs
1          stick softened butter
            oil, divided

In large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. When yeast is foamy, add 3 cups flour. Mix in salt, eggs and butter.

Once mixed well, add remaining flour 1 cup at a time and knead dough into ball in bowl. Remove dough from bowl and place on clean surface.

Wash and dry bowl then grease with drizzle of oil. Place dough in bowl and let rise 1 hour or store in refrigerator if making in advance.

When ready to use, grease muffin pan with oil. Roll dough into hand-size balls and place in each muffin hole; cover 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls 30 minutes.

Note: Dough can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator up to six days. If making ahead, punch down dough, cover and place in refrigerator. Punch down daily until ready to use.

Blueberry Crumble
            Yield: 1 cake
1          can blueberry pie filling
1          box yellow cake mix
1          bag (4 ounces) chopped pecans
1          stick butter, melted
1/4       cup oil
            whipped cream, for serving (optional)
            vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread pie filling on bottom of 9-by-11-inch pan. Sprinkle cake mix and pecans on top. Do not mix.

Drizzle melted butter and oil on top of cake mix and pecans. Do not mix. Lift pan and tilt from side to side until cake mix is completely covered in butter.

Bake 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.