Easter for Less! Affordable Easter Dinner Recipes

All You Magazine

Roasted Leg of Lamb
Serves 10 | Cost per Serving: $3.20
This succulent, affordable Roasted Leg of Lamb recipe will make your meal memorable. If you can't find a 5-pound leg of lamb (they're often larger), look for a half leg.

Ingredients


-1 boned leg of lamb, about 5 lb., rolled and tied
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise
-3 sprigs fresh rosemary 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
-1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Directions
1. Bring lamb to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450°F. Using the point of a sharp knife, make 1-inch deep incisions over surface of lamb. Fill each incision with a piece of sliced garlic and a few rosemary leaves, pushing them completely into the meat. Rub lamb all over with olive oil and lemon juice. Season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Place lamb on a rack set inside a large roasting pan. Roast lamb, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue roasting lamb until a meat thermometer inserted into center reaches 135°F for medium, about 18 minutes per pound (about 90 minutes for a 5-lb. roast).

3. Transfer lamb to a carving board and cover loosely with foil; let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Skim excess fat from roasting pan and place pan over 2 burners on stovetop. Pour in broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pan. Cook until liquid has reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Thinly slice lamb and serve with pan juices.

Cheesy Potato Gratin
Serves 8 | Cost per Serving: $1.03
Everyone will wants seconds of this traditional favorite Cheesy Potato Gratin recipe.


Ingredients


-3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
-3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan
-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, sliced crosswise 1/4-inch thick
-Salt and pepper 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
-3 cups whole milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and place on a baking sheet lined with foil.

2. Combine three cheeses in a large bowl. Sprinkle flour over and toss to coat. Arrange half of potatoes, overlapping, over bottom of baking dish. Season with 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Dot with half of butter. Sprinkle half of cheese mixture on top. Cover with remaining potatoes and dot with remaining butter. Season with additional salt and pepper.

3. Bring milk to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over potatoes. Cover dish with foil and bake until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. (Don't worry if mixture looks curdled at this point.) Remove foil, sprinkle remaining cheese mixture on top and bake, uncovered, until potatoes are very tender and top is golden brown and bubbling, about 45 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Chilled Pesto-Pea Soup
Serves 8 | Cost per Serving: $1.09
This delicious chilled soup looks restaurant-worthy, but is just a fraction of the cost.


Ingredients


-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
-2 leeks, white parts only, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
-1 cup peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 oz. total)
-6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
-1 pound frozen green peas, thawed (about 3 cups)
-Salt and pepper
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/4 cup pesto

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and broth. Increase heat slightly and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in peas; add 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Return to a simmer and cook until peas and potatoes are very soft, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Working in batches, carefully purée soup in a blender until very smooth. Strain through a coarse sieve, pressing hard on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours. (Soup can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead. Keep covered and chilled.)

3. Whisk sour cream and pesto into chilled soup. (If soup is too thick, add milk or water a tablespoonful at a time to thin.) Season with salt and pepper.

Related: Make the whole day special! Affordable Easter Brunch Recipes

Asparagus and Radish Sauté
 Serves 8 | Cost per Serving: $1.45
This flavorful (and no-fuss!) Asparagus and Radish Sauté side dish is the perfect way to make vegetables exciting.


Ingredients


-1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
-5 large shallots, sliced thinly lengthwise through the root
-2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends trimmed, cut on diagonal into 2-inch pieces
-1 bunch small radishes (about 8 oz.), trimmed, thinly sliced
-1 packed tsp. finely grated lemon zest
-1 tablespoon unsalted butter
-Salt and pepper
-Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions
1. Warm oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus and continue to cook, tossing frequently, until asparagus is crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes longer.

2. Add radishes, lemon zest and butter to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until radishes are just warmed through, about 1 minute. Squeeze lemon juice over and toss again. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Lemon-Strawberry Trifle
Serves 12 | Cost per Serving: $1.70
Loved ones will happily dig right into this decadent Lemon-StrawberryTrifle, which is the perfect make-ahead dessert. Want more dessert ideas? See our 15 Desserts under $1.


Ingredients


Sauce:
-4 cups fresh strawberries
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-1/4 cup sugar

Filling:
-1 11-oz. jar lemon curd
-1 cup heavy cream
-3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (not nonfat)
-1/4 cup sugar

Trifle:
-1 16-oz. loaf pound cake, store-bought or homemade
-1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam
-1 cup heavy cream


Directions
1. Make sauce: Hull and slice berries. Mix 1 cup berries with lemon juice and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a large bowl. Using a fork, mash berries into a chunky pulp. Combine another 1 cup berries and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the berries start to give off liquid, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until mixture is thick and pulpy, about 5 minutes longer. Stir cooked berries into mashed berries. Cool slightly.

2. Make filling: Put lemon curd in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat cream, yogurt and sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Stir about a quarter of whipped cream mixture into lemon curd, then gently fold in remaining cream mixture.

3. Assemble trifle: Trim and discard both ends of cake. Cut cake crosswise into approximately 1/3-inch-thick slices. Spread each slice thinly with jam. Pour 1/2 cup lemon filling in bottom of a 14-cup trifle bowl or other large glass bowl. Spread evenly. Top with cake slices, jam sides up, trimming cake slices as necessary to make a flat layer. Pour about 1/2 cup strawberry sauce over, distributing fruit as evenly as possible over cake layer. Spread 1/3 of remaining sliced berries over sauce. Build two more layers with remaining filling, cake, sauce and sliced strawberries, arranging layers so they're even and visible through the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

4. Just before serving, whip 1 cup cream with an electric mixer until medium-firm peaks form. Spread whipped cream decoratively on top of trifle. Spoon into individual dessert bowls and serve immediately.

See the rest of our Easter dinner recipes (and get a printable shopping list!) on AllYou.com