Homemade Chocolate Bunnies and Easter Candy

Kim and I love being able to put some homemade treats in our kids' baskets. These chocolates and hollow bunnies are really cute and super simple to make. I made this with my mom every year growing up, so if you have some older kids they might be happy to help - I always enjoyed it.

We bought a bag of dark chocolate and a bag of milk chocolate. We also got some raspberry flavoring to add a fun flavor, but you should try whatever flavoring you would like. We used the milk chocolate for the bunnies and the raspberry dark chocolate for the individual chocolates.

(Ignore the labels on my mold I have seriously had these molds since before I was 12.)

I have a mold for the candies and for the bunnies. Both Michael's and Joann's are selling the individual molds this year. This year instead of the hollow bunny mold Joann's has a bunny bark that you could also try. Or if you want to do the hollow bunnies like we did you can find some on Amazon or even Ebay. Here is one that I found: Hollow Bunny Mold on Amazon.

These are the molds I have:

Chocolate Hollow Bunnies

First step is melting your chocolate. We usually do half a bag of chocolate at a time.

If you have a double boiler you can do that, however we chose to do the microwave option since it's really easy and pretty much everyone has a microwave. Put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute. Then stir and put in for another 10 seconds. You want the chocolate to be hot and smooth. (It should have a glossy look to it).

Fill up on half of the chocolate bunny. We found you want the chocolate to be pretty warm so you have time to spread the chocolate before it starts to solidify).

Put the other side of the bunny mold on top, and then flip the bunny over. Move the bunny around so the chocolate spreads across the entire mold.

Check for air bubbles or little areas where chocolate didn't reach, like shown below. Tap the area and continue to move/shake the bunny until the entire bunny is filled.

Check both sides of the mold to make sure there are no gaps of chocolate. (This will help prevent your bunny from breaking/cracking).

Put in the freezer, horizontally, for 5 minutes and then flip the bunny around to the other side for another 5 minutes. (You may need a few additional minutes for the chocolate to solidify depending on how hot your chocolate was, and it doesn't hurt to keep it in there for a few more minutes.)

Once the chocolate seems to have solidified, gently remove the bunny from the mold.

And there you have it, a beautiful and yummy chocolate bunny!

Wrap the bunny in plastic wrap or even a cute Easter bag, tie it with ribbon and it's ready to be added to an Easter basket.

Individual Chocolates

Melt your chocolate (we did dark): put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute. Then stir and put in for another 10 seconds. You want the chocolate to be hot and smooth. (It should have a glossy look to it). Add about 1/8 of teaspoon of flavoring.

Spoon about a spoonful of the chocolate into each of the little molds.



Once the mold is filled, tap the mold against the table. This should help prevent any air bubbles and will smooth out the chocolate on the top.

Put the tray on an even surface in your freezer for about 5 minutes. Once the chocolate has solidified, flip the tray over onto a plate and tap the chocolates should pop out.

I like to store them in either the freezer or fridge to keep them cold. You can give these to a friend, eat them right away, or even put them in little plastic eggs.

Both chocolate options would look great in an Easter basket and is sure to make anyone happy.

Cheesy Potatoes and Cheesy Potatoes with Ham Freezer Meal

These cheesy potatoes are perfect to go with your Easter dinner.  You can throw this dish together in less than 10 minutes which is really nice.  You can even make them the night before you plan to use them and all you have to do is put the pan in the oven the next day. 

I've also made these potatoes into a freezer meal.  I add diced ham so it's more filling and works as a main dish.  It's the perfect freezer meal and has flavors that everyone loves.  I love to have a freezer meal on hand for when life gets crazy and this is one that my entire family enjoys.  

Since Easter is just around the corner you can double this recipe and make one pan for Easter dinner and then save the other pan for a freezer meal. Just refrigerate the extra casserole until after your dinner and add some of your leftover diced ham, mix it up and pop it in the freezer.  A side dish for your Easter dinner and a freezer meal for later.  Awesome!         

To make these Cheesy Potatoes you will need: frozen shredded hash browns, one can each of cream of chicken soup and cream of celery soup, sour cream, shredded cheese, celery, an onion, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning (we love this on potatoes, but you can leave it out if you aren't a fan of it), salt and pepper.  

This recipe is really simple. Combine the soups, sour cream, cheese and spices.  Mix well and then add the onions, celery and potatoes. 
Spread it into a greased 9x13 baking dish.  If you use a glass pan the edges and bottom of the potatoes will get a little crispy.  My husband loves the crispy potatoes, but use a different type of pan if you don't want the edges crispy.  I sprinkle a little extra cheese and some paprika on top for color.















Bake at 400 for about 35-45 minutes or until bubbly. 


















Cheesy Potatoes
Recipe by : Prescriptions for a Happy Home

Ingredients:
1 30oz. bag of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 10oz. can of cream of chicken soup
1 10oz. can of cream of celery soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I like to use cheddar jack cheese blend, but use whatever you like)
2-3 ribs of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
paprika, for sprinkling on top, optional

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the soups, sour cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese and spices in a large mixing bowl.  Mix well.  Add potatoes, celery and onions.  Mix until combined.   Spread into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.* Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and paprika.   Cover with foil and bake for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly throughout.
Enjoy!    

*The potatoes around the edges and bottom of the pan may get a little crispy if you use a glass pan, so use a different baking dish if you don't want them to get crispy. 
 
















Cheesy Potatoes with Ham, Freezer meal
Recipe by : Prescriptions for a Happy Home

Ingredients:
1 30oz. bag of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
2-3 cups diced ham
1 10oz can of cream of chicken soup
1 10oz. can of cream of celery soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I like to use cheddar jack cheese blend, but use whatever you like)
2-3 ribs of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt ( I add a little less if I'm adding ham, since the ham is pretty salty)
1/2 tsp pepper
paprika, for sprinkling on top, optional

Directions:

Combine the soups, sour cream, cheese and spices in a large mixing bowl.  Mix well.  Add potatoes, ham, celery and onions.  Mix until combined.   Spread into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and paprika. Cover tightly with foil and freeze.
Remove from the freezer the day before you plan to use it so that it can thaw.  Bake at 400 for 40-60 minutes.  Check to see if it's done at 40 minutes.  If it wasn't thawed completely, it make take up to 60 minutes.













Enjoy!

Easter Printable

I can't believe it's already time to decorate for Easter. This year, I decided I wanted an Easter printable that was more Christ centered. I love the song "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and thought that line would be perfect for an Easter printable.

Enjoy decorating

Download the printable here (without the logo):
Easter Printable PDF
Easter Printable JPG