Our Easter Dinner

Every year I have the same Easter routine: I take photos of the youngsters at the noon Lions Club Easter egg hunt on the courthouse lawn, then at 1 p.m., go to Wind River Middle School for the American Legion Easter egg hunt. Last year, it poured. This was one cold and blustery day, and I think I preferred the rain. I could see fresh snow falling on the top third of the mountains across the way from the 1 p.m. hunt.
In other years while living by myself, I wasn't worried about producing an Easter dinner, maybe throwing a half chicken, a potato or a squash in the oven for when I returned home. Now I'm living with Mom. Her mother was an old-fashioned cooks, roasting a goose or a whole ham, meanwhile knocking out Jello salad, a batch of yeasty dinner rolls and a couple of pies with a sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes as accompaniment.
Mom went to church services this morning, and usually arrives back home at 12:30 p.m. I set to work on my menu a little after 9:30 a.m., just after she left.
The menu, working within Mom's low sugar, low fat restraints:

My version of a gelatin salad -
Bloom two packets of unflavored gelatin with a little water and/or juice in a glass measuring cup and microwave a minute, stirring twice. In large glass bowl or casserole dish, add bloomed gelatin plus 1/3 cup erythritol or equivalent of Splenda, 3 cups of unsweetened pomegranate juice (Trader Joe's, or a cranberry-raspberry cocktail with Splenda.) and stir until dissolved, then add half a pound of fresh or frozen raspberries, and one can of peach slices canned in Splenda, drained. Refrigerate until set.

Fruity Clafouti -
Take half a bag of frozen raw cranberries, dice three large apples and place together in a large glass casserole dish with a lid. Add the peach juice from the gelatin, 1/2 cup of erythritol, and 1 T. little tapioca. Grate a little fresh nutmeg over the top and mix well.
For the topping, take 1-1/2 cups low fat Bisquick, 1/3 cup erythritol or the equivalent of Splenda, a pinch each of soda and salt, 1/3 cup Eggbeaters or two beaten eggs, 2/3 cup buttermilk, 1 tsp. vanilla and a couple grates of nutmeg. Mix up quickly, just removing lumps, and pour over the fruit. Grate a little nutmeg over the top. Bake in a 325 degree oven for one hour.

Pineapple/Ginger/Raspberry Mustard Ham
Take a 1-1/2 to two-pound chunk of Black Forest ham (2 percent fat), slicing thickly and trimming off the black edges from each slice. Mix 3 T. agave syrup, 3 T. Splenda maple syrup (Safeway house brand is best), 4 T. Beacon Rock brand raspberry mustard (or substitute 2 T. low sugar raspberry jam plus 2 T. Dijon mustard), a one inch knob of freshly grated ginger, 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup white wine, 2 T. finely grated orange peel, two grinds fresh pepper, 1 large clove of garlic put through a garlic press or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, one-half 16-ounce can pineapple chunks in its own juice (drain -- save the juice). Optional -- 1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes. Mix together.
Put down a thin layer of the sauce and a few pineapple pieces in a glass/enamel-coated shallow casserole dish with a cover. Lay down a layer of ham slices, add another layer of sauce, add a layer of ham, etc., ending with a layer of the sauce and pineapple. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

Orange Sweet Potatoes
Meanwhile, peel and cut into chunks one very large sweet potato, or two small ones. Place in a covered casserole dish; salt and pepper, adding one-third cup of the reserved pineapple juice from the ham. Take the whole orange from the grated peel for the ham, and section it, placing membraned pieces with the sweet potato chunks in the casserole dish. Toss with 3 T. agave nectar. Cover and bake in a slow oven with the ham until tender, uncovering if it gets too juicy.

Side dish: frozen green beans cooked with 3 T. water and a little Smart Squeeze. Add 1 tsp. dried dillweed and salt; lower heat to keep warm.

I was gone when Mom got home, and because I insisted due to her tendency to become hypoglycemic, she was eating. I had 15 minutes between Easter egg hunts and the last one was close to home, so I had a little ham and sweet potatoes, then had the rest of my Easter dinner after returning.

You will note some ingredient and flavor overlap --- It all worked out, and best of all, we have leftovers. But alas, no fresh hot dinner rolls.