Catching up with the Kelnhofers-85

This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers, I’m sharing some of my favorite recipes for Springtime and Easter brunch! Plus, you can check out a few books on my to-read list for this month and some adorable pictures from a matching-outfit park day.

As the weather starts to warm up (a little) here in WI I feel the pull to make all the fresh Spring-y and Easter-y dishes!

Here are 10 of my favorite seasonal dishes:

Ham and Brie Crostini Toast –In my house, we call it “fancy toasts.” Who doesn’t love bread with toppings!?
Slow Cooker Hot Cross Bun Cinnamon Rolls – any recipe that can be made in a slow cooker so I don’t have to worry about it, is good for me! This brunch treat is just that.
Mini Carrot Cheddar Cheese Balls – This 5 ingredient appetizer has a unique name, but I promise the taste is delicious.
Cheesy Potatoes – can it get easier than a slow cooker dish?! Sure can – a dish that is also only 5 ingredients.
5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots – another one for you! I’m really aiming to make your Easter brunch as easy as possible (you just may need an extra slow cooker or two!)
Carrot Cake Coffee Cake – Fair waning, this dessert is SO ADDICTING.
Make Ahead Quiche – the best part about this dish is that you can make it ahead of time! That means, no stress on Easter morning. For us, this is a big bonus, because we’re hoping to hide a few eggs for Ben!
Miso deviled eggs – a slight twist on a classic and wowza, sooo good, you won’t make deviled eggs any other way!
Lemon chicken risotto – made in an Instant Pot and so springy and delicious
Vitamin C boost smoothie – the best smoothie to start your day with (orange pineapple smoothie)

A week full of great new posts!

Nut butter cookies and bunny pancakes — Nut butter cookies | Bunny pancakes

Nut butter chocolate chip cookies – these are only 5 ingredients and gluten free! Plus you can use any nut butter you like.
Weekly meal plan – the easiest way to meal plan.complete with a grocery list
Fluffy buttermilk bunny pancakes – so so easy, delicious and a great thing to do with kids for Easter
Love List – weekly favorites from around the web.

What I Made:

Made cornflake breaded pork chops based on my cornflake un-fried chicken recipe and served it with a simple side salad – so good. Here is a reel (and recipe is below)
- 1lb pork chops
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbs water
- 3/4 cup cornflakes, crushed
- 1/2 cup Italian Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp seasoning (bbq seasoning or Franks red hot seasoning mix or a mix of paprika, cayenne, chili powder and garlic salt
Instructions
- combine cornflakes, Panko and seasoning
- beat egg and put into shallow bowl
- preheat oven to 425
- dredge pork in egg and then coat with breading
- spray baking dish and pork with cooking spray
- bake for 10-15 minutes (depends on how thick your pork chops are) or until pork chops reach internal temperature of 160 (for well done).
- remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy
I spy a Home Chef delivery box when we were outside; I use them weekly!

My mother-in-law made my favorite lamb meatballs with yogurt sauce.

Bunny pancakes are a regular in our house now, they’re so seasonal and fun (and I make pancakes ahead so I have them in the freezer, all ready to go!

5-Ingredient Instant Pot beer brats are soooo good when you need a quick meal.

One of the best things Santa brought the kids were these fun plate sets – they love them

My recipe for eggless waffles is popular in my house and amongst my readers! I love reading these comments about how much they’re loving the end product.

“Thanks for this recipe. You never let me down!!! YUM! The lemon zest is really nice. I used brown rice syrup to avoid the cane sugar in this batch, and coconut milk. Turned out great!”
“Made these today with whole milk & they turned out great! My son is allergic to eggs and I was looking for an eggless waffle recipe and he ate the entire waffle I would say that’s a win! I really liked the lemon zest addition, it gave the waffles a bright & fresh flavor since waffles can be rich. Will definitely make these again – It’s a straight-forward and delicious recipe! Thank you for sharing!”

P.S. waffles are a great option for Easter brunch!

I am sure you’ve read or heard me talk about how often I make quick pickled eggs , so it’s always fun to see my readers making them too!

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but this kettle is THE BEST kitchen item – I get messages about it every time I show it! I use it every morning to make my coffee and every afternoon to make tea. It’s such a time saver, and it brings things to the perfect temperature.

New books I’m reading this month:

Behind Closed Doors – I’ve heard so many good things about this book – it’s a physiological thriller!

More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth – This book has over 1600 5 star reviews and it matches all the recommendations I’ve heard, cannot wait, just downloaded it.

The Kindest Lie – An anticipated book on my list that just came out- and a beautiful endorsement from one of my favorite authors “a deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, and what it means to grow up Black…beautifully crafted.” (Jodi Picoult)

Cookbook of the week:

Alpine Cooking – “this book will make you want to travel” …truer words were never spoken (by a friend who I love talking cookbooks with). So I got the book and wow. It’s beautiful and makes me want to go hiking in Europe!!!

Cookie adventure with Ben – I used to go on “adventures” with Ben, where we’d just get in the car and go do something fun (like going down to the Lake or checking out a new bakery). This past weekend the weather was beautiful so we went on an adventure (his stuffed dog had to come with, buckled in and all) this time to Hatched MKE – they have a pie drive-through where they sell whatever extras they have from their orders. All their products are so good. Ben especially loved the sprinkle cookie. On the way home we saw some fun GIANT chairs so we stopped. When we got home Nick asked Ben “did you eat the WHOLE cookie?” Ben looked at him and said “No!” … I mean, he did leave a small bite, lol

Gloomy weather – rainy days called for lots of lounging. Also, Frankie got new rain boots!

Matching outfits and geese – Nick got the twins dressed in matching buffalo plaid outfits they got for Christmas, I spotted it and had to wear a matching top lol! We went to a park with lots of geese and they were so loud! The kids were quacking and making honking sounds, too funny.

EAT

Fun bunny foods! They are perfect for Easter and great to make with the kids. Use this recipe to make amazing bunny pancakes and this one to make bunny-shaped bread!