Easter Treats....

Wow.... what a day of treats. My boys being the sweetest treats of all!

We got up early, the boys had their usual breakfasts, Jason and I didn't eat, and then around snack time we went out for brunch. But before heading to brunch, I managed to get this into the oven:

Can you see the specks of vanilla bean in this amazing cheesecake? I used a WHOLE VANILLA BEAN! And you can really taste it. It is delicious.

Then I had to marinate the lamb...I found the recipe here. It turned out fantastic! I managed to cook it to a perfect medium.

Once those two tasks were done we could leave the house and have a nice brunch together. I had an omelet filled with chicken, mixed peppers and feta - YUM. Jakob and Aiden shared some fantastic french toast that made me wish I had ordered it!

When we pulled into the driveway after brunch, Jason jumped out of the car to "check to see if the Easter Bunny had come" and laid out the eggs that I had filled last night. The backyard was littered with them! Like a rainbow! The boys came out into the backyard with their baskets in hand, and huge grins on their face. Aiden let out one of his only words...WOW! They gathered up the eggs fairly quickly (thank goodness since they were filled with chocolate!), Jakob helped Aiden again - so cute.

Then it was time for a quick nap before another Egg Hunt at Miss Mary's house. That was a blast too. There were 16 kiddos there....Chasity had numbered the eggs, each child had a number and they had to find the eggs with their number on it. There was face painting, lots of sports to play, and lots of yard to run around in. I didn't pull out my camera for this event, but several of the other moms had theirs out and are going to send me lots of pics! I do, however, have pics of the treats that I made for the kids...

We weren't able to stay at Mary's for as long as we wanted to since I needed to get that leg of lamb in the oven! So the boys played with Daddy while I cleaned up the kitchen and put together all the fixings for dinner. Dinner was awesome. Except for the asparagus - I over cooked it...but oh well. The rest was great.

But the best treat I made today...sweet treat that is - the lamb rocked!, was the cheesecake...check this out....

Jason wanted some chocolate with his so I made him some chocolate ganache and we drizzled some on top. I thought it made it too rich, but he loved it.

I am sorry there are no recipes here today. I am tired and my back is killing me so I am going to go lie down and take a break...it's been a loooooong day!

Hope you all had a fantastic Easter.

Take care,

Tania, Love Big, Bake Often

Easter Egg Hunt!

Today was my little baby boy's first Easter Egg Hunt, and Jakob's real first one with other kids. Jake has done others in our house the past couple of years, but nothing like this. I am not sure if it was just put on by one of the churches, or if it was the city association, but it was huge! Lots of business in the neighbourhood sponsored it, and they needed that sponsorship. There were SO many kids there. It was a mob scene! And Jason overheard someone comment that they had laid out 25,000 eggs! Crazy, right? They had it pretty organized. They divided up the park lawns and spread out eggs everywhere. Each area was for a different age group, 1&2's, 3&4's...etc, etc. So Jason went with Aiden and I took Jakob. What a mad house. The boys weren't phased at all, they were loving it. It was a beautiful sunny day, probably in the low 80's, with a slight breeze. (yes, low 80's in April- I will surely melt this summer!)

Jakob blew through the field at an alarming pace, filling his bucket very fast. So we were able to quickly head over to the younger kiddo's field and see Aiden figure out what to do with the eggs!! He did a great job. Daddy carried the bucket and Aiden toddled around grabbing a few eggs.

Jakob would not stop for me to get a good photo - this is the best I got!

Aiden and Daddy hard at work....

Big Brothers are good helpers.....

More Easter Extravaganza tomorrow.... egg hunt at home, brunch out (thank goodness), egg hunt with friends, and then yummy dinner at home with all kinds of yummy treats - pics and recipes tomorrow!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Take Care,

Tania Love Big, Bake Often