On the Range for the last Week..more or less!

The above was an interesting recipe I made a bit ago that I’ll not do again. The recipe was for pork loin, but had lemon wedges with the other veggies. The lemon’s had been zested, but they did make the components rather bitter after baking for a few hours. I also felt bad (kind of) when The Craftsman bit into what he thought was a potato. Little Bear suggested more garlic cloves and maybe a quarter of a lemon or no lemon.

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Earlier in the Easter week, I made another bacon wrapped meat loaf. I had an idea and it worked! Usually, I just wrap the bacon around the loaf. This time I wove the bacon as it was inside a loaf pan and then put the meat into the bacon. It worked quite well. For more ease, next time I am going to weave the bacon on paper, put it into the pan, and than add the meat. It just makes the bacon weave neater.

Easter dinner. I made a few things ahead. Broccoli salad, which The Craftsman won’t touch and macaroni salad, which Little Bear might eat under duress, if there are no peas. I also made cheese straws (those are a splendid snack food!) in case my rolls failed. Oh, I made dessert. The cheesecake in a cupcake tin. On Easter, Little Bear headed for the mountains for the afternoon. The Craftsman did yard work and a few other things and got home in time to help me cut up taters. (OK, he cut up one to my peeling and cutting up two, but he did help with that part of dinner. He also finished setting the table for me.)

The ham was not entirely warm when we got ready to eat, but it had been out of the oven for more than 20 min. Everything else was piping hot, though! Besides, Little Bear said the gravy would make everything the same temps! (the gravy was a packet mix. Ham juices are just too salty to make gravy from.)

The rolls, well, I was glad I made my normal clover leaf ones as well as the bunny buns. (the clover leaf rolls are three balls dropped into the same depression in a muffin tin.) Bunny buns are super cute, but often a pinterest fail. Typically, you mold the bunny bits before the rolls raise, then you reshape them before baking. I ran out of time and did it AFTER they rose a bit. (nose crinkle) As one of our dinner guests said, ‘I’m not fond of mice, but these taste good.’ Little Bear and I decided they looked more like hamsters.

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The cheesecakes were interesting. Mine did not look like the ones on the particular recipe site I was following. Little Bear liked them anyway. So, did I! I also had purchased a store bought frozen pie thing that the others enjoyed, so all in all, it worked out! (although, I’m still washing dishes. Even using the wash as you go plan of Gaz’s!) The whipped topping was messy and fun! The band aid was not. I cut myself sterilizing the scissors I used on the rabbit ears. 🙄

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NOTE: there are blocks I cannot delete, so I hope this works. I am also hoping it is all saved, so I can post it later! It was saved, but still has quirks and somehow did not get posted when I thought it had. 😤