Imagine the kitchen table, covered in 16 (count ‘em – 16) peat pots, a large jar of ModPodge, craft paint, stickers, pipe cleaners (the baskets needed handles), and glitter. But the stickers didn’t quite stick. And my enthusiasm waned faster than you can say spring sphere .

So I punted.

What I discovered were some really great ideas from Kellogg’s. Who doesn’t love Rice Krispie Treats?? And who knew so many perfect Easter ideas could come from rice  cereal, marshmallows and butter?

Follow Kellogg’s original recipe for the treats first:

• 3 T. butter
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows OR 40 regular marshmallows
• 6 cups Rice Krispies

1. In large saucepan melt chocolate morsels and butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat

2. Add KELLOGG’S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:

In microwave-safe bowl heat chocolate morsels, butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 thru 4 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

My favorite krispie design is the hidden surprise Easter egg treat, pictured above. In addition to the treats, you’ll need a plastic egg and some M&Ms or other candies. My own warning, here. Handling the Rice Krispie mixture is a lot like making popcorn balls – it’s going to be hot, so be careful. I find that buttering my hands (or spraying them with cooking spray) keeps the mixture from sticking to my hands.

If you don’t want to mess with the plastic egg, just mold your own egg, dip the bottom in some melted chocolate, then sprinkles.

This one is pretty cute too – a little bird’s nest, filled with candy. You’ll need a muffin tin, coconut and green food coloring, and jelly beans or other candy. Just mold the treats on the underside of the muffin tins (or inside them – either way, spray the tins with some cooking oil first). How cute is this?

Of course, no Easter is complete without our rabbit friends.  With that in mind, check out these chocolate bunny treats.  You’ll need three circle cookie cutters and the ability to shape cute little bunny ears, or a rabbit shaped cookie cutter, some icing and chocolate chips.

Needless to say, Kellogg’s has a ton of ideas for Easter and other holidays – a box or 10 of Rice Krispies and every holiday is easy to celebrate – even for me!

Happy Easter!!

Since Easter is only days away, I’ve been out stocking up on my Peeps supply. Heaven forbid I leave my Peep shopping to the last minute, and to my horror, find the shelves bare of the ooey, gooey, sugary marshmallow treats. I would be forever disowned as head holiday empress of my kingdom.

I love me some Peeps! Do you love Peeps, too?

I’ve gathered a few peep-a-liscious ideas in case you’d like to impress your peeps with your Peep skills .

How to make S’meeps: S’mores + Peeps

Serious Eats.com

How to make Peepshi: Peeps + Sushi

Serious Eats.com

How to make Peepsicles: Peeps + Popsicles

Serious Eats.com

How do they make these things, anyway?

How Peeps are Made, from the Chicago Tribune

FYI, I found an official Peeps Fan Club, should you wish to add this impressive club membership to your resume.

There’s also the annual Washington Post – Peep Shows I, II, III, IV, & V

And for the brave – Peep Experiments at Peep Research.org

I wouldn’t recommend this next one unless you’re a complete kook who wants to mess with perfection. But in case you are, here’s a recipe for making your own Peeps – How to make Peeps.

Last but not least, Miss Liz got creative with some Peeps this week with a Peeps on a string.

And in completely unrelated Peeps news: Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

~Kate

Hey, Kate! Great post! But I think you forgot one very special use for Peeps… (howling with laughter).

First, they came after Christmas, as words like winter break and happy holidays were crammed down our throats lest someone be offended if they heard the term, “Merry Christmas.” And Heaven forbid you say words like nativity and scene in the same sentence – much less in public. Then they came after Thanksgiving.

So it should come as no real surprise that Easter eggs are now under attack.

It seems some students at a private Seattle, WA, high school were told to perform a week’s worth of community service during spring break. So one sophomore student decided to volunteer her time at a third-grade public school class. Toward the end of the week, the sophomore decided it would be fun to bring some plastic Easter eggs, filled with various candies, to school for the third-graders.

But the sophomore wasn’t sure whether the teacher would be open to the idea. Earlier in the week, she’d attended a meeting on the school’s “abstract behavior rules”. That being said, I’m betting you can guess where this is going. After broaching the subject with the teacher, who also talked things over with the administration, the eggs were approved. But with one small caveat: they’d have to be referred to as spring spheres, not Easter eggs. You heard me right. Spring spheres.

Let’s tackle the word “sphere” first, shall we?

A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object (like a ball)… completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance  from the center point. Go anywhere on the sphere and the radius  or diameter (radius times 2) will be exactly the same.

Guess the ol’ bunny’s gonna have to find a way to lay round eggs… Either that, or Seattle’s finest are going to have to decide whether they want to sacrifice educational quality for political correctness. Or maybe they’ll just redefine spheres to include ovals or egg shapes.

Unbelievable.

If the issues surrounding the egg/sphere controversy are based on the fact that Easter is celebrated by many as a religious holiday – and I bet ya 50 cents they are – I feel it my duty to point out one thing: Next to the Easter bunny, a bunch of hard boiled colored eggs are about as secular as you can get. Think about Easter dinner, for example. Deviled EGGS!! Helloooo!!

Clearly we have a major problem with political correctness. But, in keeping with the Lenten season, and of course Easter, I’ll tweak an age-old saying and simply offer this to the lame brains in Seattle:

Go suck a sphere.

-Liz

UPDATE from one of our readers who chose to remain anonymous. His suggestion? We change it to hemisphere Keep those ideas coming, people!

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Over the past few days I’ve been on a quest to figure out how to make the ‘Perfect Hard Boiled Egg’, since Easter is coming up on Sunday.  At my house, dyeing  eggs on the Saturday before Easter is a tradition.  We’re not talking a couple eggs here…we’re talking 5 (yep, that’s FIVE) dozen eggs. I know that sounds ridiculous, but that’s only 8 eggs per kid, with a few extra to account for the eggs that inevitably crack while boiling.

With this easy and fail-proof method for hard boiled eggs, the whites will be firm, but not rubbery, and the yolk will be yellow (not grayish – a sign of over cooking) with just the slightest hint of a shiny center.

1. Put eggs in pan of water so that water covers eggs by at least an inch, and bring to a boil.
2. After the eggs have boiled for 1 minute, remove from heat and cover.  Let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Drain hot water and add cold water with ice, to stop the eggs from further cooking. Replace with more ice and cold water as needed, until eggs are completely cooled.
4. Let the eggs chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours before peeling.

Fun Easter Egg Coloring Ideas

Make your own food color dye…

Instead of buying an egg dyeing kit from the store this year, try making your own.

Combine 1/2 to 1 Tbs. of food coloring with 2 tsp. vinegar in a cup that is deep enough for an egg.  Add water to about the half-way point. Gently place the eggs into the cup with a spoon to avoid cracking. The longer the egg is left in the dye, the brighter the color will be.  Experiment with different combinations of colors.  Pat dry after removing from dye.

Fun & crazy stripped eggs…

Before placing eggs into dye cups, wrap various sizes of rubber bands around the eggs.  Place egg in dye and let sit.  Remove and pat dry, then carefully remove rubber bands.  Under where the rubber bands were, the egg will be white.Experiment with removing only a few rubber bands at a time and placing in other colors.

Marbled Eggs

When you are almost finished dyeing eggs, try this with the last few eggs.  Simply add 1 TBS of oil to the cup of dye.  Stir quickly with a spoon and drop in egg.  Pull egg out quickly and pat dry. (don’t rub)

Waxing Easter Eggs

Drip wax from a lit white taper candle onto the egg.  After the wax is set, drop the egg into food coloring dye.  Remove from dye and pat dry.  You can scrape the wax off and dip into another color, or leave the wax on it you want it to remain white.

~Kate

Breakfast Burritos – Just chop up some hard boiled eggs and mix with some cooked spanish rice and some grated cheese. Wrap it up in a tortilla.  Heat  in the microwave and top with salsa.

BLT & E Sandwiches – Just add some sliced hard boiled eggs to the traditional BLT for a yummy twist.

Fried Rice – Just add come chopped up eggs and ham to your favorite fried rice recipe (a box is fine, Liz) and serve with soy sauce and fortune cookies.

Egg Salad Sandwiches -  You know the drill here, but for an extra twist to the flavor, add some ranch dressing in place of some of the mayo.

Chef salad – This meal only uses a few eggs, but I’m stretching to find meal 5 here, so give me a break.

Enjoy

-Kate

More Fun Easter Egg Coloring Ideas

Marbled Eggs

When you are almost finished dyeing eggs, try this with the last few eggs.  Simply add 1 TBS of oil to the cup of dye.  Stir quickly with a spoon and drop in egg.  Pull egg out quickly and pat dry. (don’t rub)

Waxing Easter Eggs

Drip wax from a lit white taper candle onto the egg.  After the wax is set, drop the egg into food coloring dye.  Remove from dye and pat dry.  You can scrape the wax off and dip into another color, or leave the wax on it you want it to remain white.

I’ve been on a quest over the past few days to find out how to make the “Perfect Hard Boiled Egg” since Easter is coming up on Sunday.  At my house, dyeing  eggs on the Saturday before Easter is a tradition.  We’re not talking a couple eggs here…we’re talking 5 (yep, that’s FIVE) dozen eggs. I know that sounds ridiculous, but that’s only 8 eggs per kid, with a few extra to account for the eggs that inevitably crack while boiling.

With this easy and fail-proof method for hard boiled eggs, the whites will be firm, but not rubbery, and the yolk will be yellow (not grayish – a sign of over cooking) with just the slightest hint of a shiny center.

1. Put eggs in pan of water so that water covers eggs by at least an inch, and bring to a boil.
2. After the eggs have boiled for 3 minutes, remove from heat and cover.  Let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Drain hot water and add cold water with ice, to stop the eggs from further cooking.

Check back tomorrow for fun Easter Egg Coloring Ideas.

-Kate