Having a few easy Easter side dishes you can easily add to the Easter dinner menu makes all the difference in the level of stress you’ll have to cope with, whether you’re simply cooking for a few friends or you’re expecting the whole extended family.
That’s where the slowcooker truly shines. No more worrying about having everything cooked in time or keeping everything hot. A portable crock pot also offers the perfect solution for a potluck dinner.
Keep it plugged in till your guest arrive, and you can go about your other preparations worry free. Another plus of course is that it leaves your oven free for baking dessert.
Here are some Easter dinner side dish ideas to put you slow cooker to good use. Cooking potatoes can’t get any easier, and we all know that creamy mashed potatoes or cheesy scalloped potatoes complement ham perfectly. Easy homemade mac and cheese is another alternative, always popular with the kids. Or if you prefer something lighter, how about making herb flavored rice.
A slow cooker is also perfect for cooking all sorts of healthy Easter side dishes. Root vegetables in particular lend themselves well to long, slow cooking. Glazed carrots are easy to prepare and go well with ham. Or try a mix of potatoes, carrots, turnips and onions seasoned with rosemary and garlic in a little olive oil and cooked for about eight hours or until all the vegetables are tender.
Cheese and ham are a perfect marriage, and a cauliflower and broccoli side dish bathing in cheese sauce is sure to disappear quickly. Or try slowly steaming either Brussels sprouts or asparagus in your slow cooker. And don’t forget casserole style side dishes.
As a matter of fact, most of your favorite holiday recipes can be adapted to slow cooking – simply search online for the crock pot version.
A casserole recipe for example would require four hours of cooking on High for every hour you would bake it in the oven. You would need to precook your meat first and then add most vegetables raw. Spring vegetables (peas, summer squash, zucchini, etc.) should be added later as they only need a couple of hours to cook. Toppings should go in last as they need to cook for 30 to 45 minutes.
Crock pot cooking is the key to easy Easter food. Not only does it free up valuable oven space, but it’s also a major sanity booster – what’s there not to like?
Find recipes for the above and other Easter dishes including a refreshing Broccoli Slaw Salad on our Easy Easter Menu.
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