Perfect Imperfection!

Easter was beautiful yesterday. Not only for the most obvious of reasons….Christ is Risen!!
But also, we have some incredible friends that we were blessed to have in our home.

Look at these! Aren’t they lovely??














These are the incredibly thoughtful gift of my dear friend, Connie…and her big-lug husband, John, of course. What a special treat!!!

Look at these! Aren’t they fun??














These are the sweet and thoughtful Easter gift of my dear friend, Colleen, for our kids. What could be better than hot wheels and “Super Chicks” (as they’ve so rightly been named)?! An additional blessing is to have friends that love our kids well.

These ladies, husbands and families are what helped to make our family Easter PERFECT.

The IMPERFECT part was this:
My spiral cut ham, although tasty, was luke warm.
My deviled eggs were horrendous! (Note to self…stick to Mom’s recipe…don’t try new recipe)
My homemade ice cream never “iced”….something went dreadfully wrong.
My house was not spotless clean…in fact, it was quite the opposite!

But in spite of all the hospitality faux-pas, the day was lovely…just BEING with friends. It so didn’t matter. All that mattered was conversation and sweet fellowship.

I did, however, make two really great recipes, shown below.

Have a perfectly imperfect week, full of love and real friendship!

Lemon Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 T lemon juice
1 T grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
GLAZE:
2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, lemon juice, and lemon peel. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to batter, alternatively with milk. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean. Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over loaf while still warm.














Recipe courtesy of Lynn. Thanks, Lynn!

Strawberry and Spinach Salad*
3 T sesame seeds
1 T and 1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup and 2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 T and 1 1/2 tsp minced red onion
15 ozs. fresh spinach, rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
6 cups strawberries, cleaned hulled and sliced
1/4 cup and 2 T almonds (or walnuts)
crumbled feta
Red onion slices (for top)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

*the quantity here is a lot...can reduce ingredients.