Make Homemade Easter Candy

 As Easter approaches, the joy of celebrating with family and friends is complemented by the sweet treats for this spring Holiday. 

Why not add a personal touch to your Easter celebrations by making homemade Easter candy to add a special touch to your Holiday festivities.

Make Homemade Easter Candy-Reviewed

We make a day of it yearly by making Easter candy with our grandchildren. Making your own chocolate candy for any Holiday is fun, and the kids have a great time being creative with decorating the candy.

The photo above shows some of our daughter's and the kids' creative work last year. I take no credit for the decorating, as none of it was done by me. My only job is to melt the chocolate and take some pictures.

We use a double boiler to melt the chocolate on the stove. You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl. 

I never have any luck melting the chocolate in the microwave. I like using the double boiler because I can add chocolate discs to the melted chocolate and keep stirring it.

There are many brands of chocolates to buy. We have been buying Wilton Candy Melts. We use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and various colors for decorating. You will find instructions on the Wilton Candy Melt bags for melting the chocolate in the microwave or using a double boiler.

After the chocolate is melted we just spoon it into the various plastic molds and then set the mold in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. After the chocolate is solid you are ready to decorate with the different colors of melted chocolate. 

The bunnies shown above are just out of the freezer and will be decorated with different colored chocolates using small brushes and toothpicks.

In the photo above, Bobby is filling a mold with chocolate and adding sticks. Tyler is preparing to decorate with different colors of chocolate using toothpicks and brushes.

This Easter, take the opportunity to create lasting memories by making your own homemade candies. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just starting out, this delightful activity is sure to bring joy to your celebration. Share the sweetness with family and friends, and embrace the satisfaction of crafting your own Easter treats. Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Chocolate Molds 3pcs Silicone Easter Candy Molds 12 Design Egg Candy Molds Non Stick for Ice Cube Resin Expoxy

Candy Molds N More Easter Bunny Lollipop Chocolate Candy Mold 882

Wilton Dark Cocoa Candy Melts® Candy, 12 oz.

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Make Fresh Basil Pesto

 

Fresh homemade basil pesto reviewed

It’s easy to grow your own herbs. Every year in the spring, Fran buys fresh basil plants, we re-pot these plants and set them out on our deck.

We enjoy fresh basil all season long and into the fall. The plants just keep reproducing. This basil pesto is so easy to make and can be enjoyed in many ways.

Basil pesto is perfect tossed over pasta, spread on crackers or toast, try adding some to your favorite salad. Try it on Garlic bread or a baked potato. 

I’ve even made pesto pizza you can find my recipe here for Fresh Tomato and Pesto Pizza.

Our grandson Bobby loves to cook, and especially with fresh ingredients. This fresh basil pesto is one of his favorites to make. Bobby makes this basil pesto in about 10 minutes. So, it’s easy to have a meal on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Basil Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup fresh grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves fresh garlic (We love our garlic so, you can cut this in half if you like)

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (can be omitted)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Add the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the food processor several times to chop and mix.

Add the garlic, cheese, and lemon juice and pulse several more times

Place the lid on the food processor turn it on and pour the olive oil in a steady stream.

Stop and scrape the sides with a spatula and turn it on again for about 10 seconds.

Add salt and pepper to taste. If you use the red pepper flakes add them now and pulse a few more times to mix it all in.

We served our basil pesto over fresh Fettuccine that we made with our Emeril Lagasse Pasta and Beyond machine.

Read my review here: Emeril Lagasse Pasta and BeyondReviewed.

Our basil pesto with homemade fettuccine was on the table in 30 minutes or less for a delightful family meal.

We used our Ninja Food Processor to make this pesto. Any food processor or blender will work. If you don’t have a basil plant, you can buy fresh basil at your local grocery store and have this basil pesto at any time. 

It's easy to freeze the pesto to enjoy anytime on crackers or toast. Pour the pesto into ice cube trays and place them in the freezer. After the pesto freezes place the cubes in a freezer bag.

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Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe Reviewed

Much Better Than Canned Soup

Make your own tomato soup

After trying your own homemade tomato soup, you will never open a can of soup again. At least, I am not sure I could stomach it after having made my own from this recipe. 

One of my most favorite lunches is tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. For me, it is comfort food at its very best. I love tomatoes so when Mom would fix tomato soup and grilled cheese when I was a kid, I was in heaven. Now, Mom never made it from scratch and to be honest, as a child, I never realized that my most favorite of all soups came from anywhere other than that famous red and white can. 

A few weeks back, I expressed that I hoped that I would get an Immersion Hand Blender for one of my Christmas gifts. Santa did not bring me one but I did use a gift card that I received to purchase one for myself. Want to guess what the first thing I made with it was? I'll give you a hint; it starts with tomato and ends with soup. Oh my goodness! It was so very good and really very easy!

Tomato Soup Recipe

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 garlic gloves minced

1 28 oz can peeled plum tomatoes 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 shallot diced

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon fresh basil

3 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Place the olive oil in a large pot with the shallot and garlic. On medium heat cook the onion and garlic for about 4 to 6 minutes or until the shallot is translucent. Add the remaining ingredients including the juices from the canned tomatoes and stir. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn the heat down to a low simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes with the pot partially covered. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup to your desired consistency. 

Serve in a bowl with a grilled cheese sandwich and you are in for a real taste treat!

I will offer a tip on the tomatoes. You can use either whole peeled tomatoes or you can use the ones that are already crushed. The only difference is that the crushed ones take less time with the immersion blender. Both work well. Personally, I love the taste of the plum tomatoes but you can also choose regular tomatoes for the recipe. It just boils down to your taste buds. 

As I said earlier, once I made my own tomato soup with this recipe I won't be able to open a can of soup again. This is so delicious and easy to make that I can't believe it took me this long to try making it from scratch. By the way, it passed the husband test, too. He absolutely loved it! 

How about it? Do you think that you might try making your own sometime soon? I can promise you that you will not be disappointed! 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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