Spring Session 2011- Week Three

It's Easter Week! No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake and Deviled Eggs

Easter week and we are inspired by things that we eat at Easter time, cheesecake and deviled eggs. Although I don't eat them much, I do love yummy deviled eggs. The name has given me moments of pause and wonder, but it soon passes as I pop 'em in my mouth, and then it all makes sense, devilishly good. To my surprise some children have never had deviled eggs, and some kids plain just don't like eggs, and then there are the fanatics that love them. We talked about all of the ingredients, and what it added to the flavor of the filling, and let all of the kids contribute an ingredient or two or three. We mixed it all up and let them fill their own eggs, and sprinkle some paprika on top. Here is the basic recipe that I use and these are estimates I don't follow any measurements just my taste buds tell me when its done.

Deviled Eggs (for 1 dozen hard boiled eggs)

1/4-1/3 c. mayo (any kind that you like)
1 T. mustard (dijon is always good, but whatever you have around)
1 t. salt
1/2-3/4 t. pepper
1-2 T. pickle juice (I like bread and butter pickle juice myself gives it a tangy hit)
Paprika for sprinkling

Slice eggs in half and place hard yolks in medium bowl and hard whites reserve for later on platter. Using a fork break up yolks to resemble bread crumbs/peas. Add mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, and pickle juice. Mix together until combined. Using a spoon or small ice cream scoop (my favorite) scoop filling back into each egg half. Sprinkle with paprika and voila! I would add the smaller amount of ingredients and slowly add until it is to your liking. I don't like too much mayo so mine might be on the drier side. If you like yours creamier add more mayo. A couple things you could do to change it up is chop up fresh oregano about 1 tsp. or more. You could also add lemon juice into the mix. A bit of smoked salmon would be super yummy. If you aren't a fan of paprika chopped chives add a nice bite and beautiful color.

Our other favorite Easter treat is No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake. This was a shoe in for most kids. Strawberries were an easy sell, but the for some the cream cheese not so much. I think as a kid it is hard to imagine a cheese being a sweet treat, but boy does it taste delicious as a dessert. We search high and low for a no-bake recipe and tested a few replacing part of the cream cheese with yogurt and sour cream. We ended up keeping it simple and used the recipe on the back of the Knox gelatin box. Again, we discuss with the kids what the ingredients are and what purpose they have in the recipe, and let them put it all together with our assistance. Here's the recipe for the cheesecake and the homemade crust:

Knox Gelatin recipe with small alteration:

6-8 strawberries
1 env. Knox unflavored gelatin
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. boiling water
2 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Eileen's Incredible Crumb Crust

1 cup Mesa Sunrise Cereal crushed fine, or finely ground in food processor

2/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted, cooled and finely ground in food processor

1/3 cup organic brown sugar

1/8 tsp. sea salt, finely ground

1/4 tsp. each cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

4 T. organic butter, melted and cooled

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Add melted butter and stir until incorporated.

Press crumb crust into bottom of 10" pie plate, or into a 12 well muffin tin, lined with paper cupcake liners, if making mini cheesecakes.

Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Hull strawberries and chop them into quarters. Place strawberries into food processor and pulse about three times to give strawberries a rough chop. Set aside. In large bowl mix gelatin with sugar. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. With electric mixer beat in the cream cheese and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust. Chill until firm about 2-3 hrs.

In between cooking projects we had a simple paper basket that the kids were able to put together, and below are photos from the week. Enjoy!