"Tie" Dyed Easter Eggs~Crown Jewel Cake~Black Bean & Pineapple Salad Ole!!

TIE" DYED EASTER EGGS
You need 100% silk for this to work. Make sure to check the labels to make sure you're not buying polyester, which can look similar. Grab old ties at the thrift store where they're all under a buck. And remember: when it comes to ties, you may not want ugly ones on your man, but ugly ties do make pretty eggs! You could also use silk from an old blouse, a scarf, whatever.
Try to find an assortment of colors and patterns. Usually dark blues, purples, and reds work the best, but it's fun to experiment with all kinds of things. The interesting thing is that you never know how much of the color and pattern will transfer to the eggs. Sometimes ties I think will be awesome really disappoint, and ones I didn't think much of make the most beautiful eggs.
Materials and Tools
-Raw Eggs
-Glass or enamel pot (but pretty much any non-aluminum pot will be fine)
-Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg
-An old white sheet, or pillowcase, or tablecloth, or random fabric, cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs
-Twist ties or string
-4 tablespoons of white vinegar
-Warm water
-Vegetable oil
-Paper towels
-Tongs or spoon
1. Remove seaming from ties and any lining on the inside. You just want a piece of the silk. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg.
2. Wrap an egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg. Just try to make as much smooth contact with the fabric to the egg as you can. The pattern will transfer better if it is right up against the egg. Any part that is folded or wrinkled will leave kind of a tie-dyed pattern (which is a good thing, it’s pretty that way) Secure with twist-tie or string..

3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with another twist-tie or string. (Do yourself a favor and go with the twisty tie!)

If you go to the thrift store to get ties, you may want to grab a pillowcase too.
4. Place the egg(s) in the pot. Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add the 1/4 C of white vinegar.
5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool on a pile of paper towels or in a colander.
7. When eggs are cool enough to handle, you can remove the fabric.
8. To add a little bit of lustre to your eggs, put a dab of vegetable oil on a paper towel and rub onto the egg..

A little thought: You're going to use the largest part of the tie, at the bottom, and be left with the rest of it which might not be large enough to use again. What I do is take all of those pieces and just stitch them together on my sewing machine. It's really fast and then I'm left with a brand new piece of silk to cut squares from. You can get a lot more use out of them that way and it's fun to combine fabrics. Have you seen the beautiful purses made from the silk ties….You could make yourself a purse from the left overs….
**Safety Note**: Now about the dye transferring to the actual egg. Know that it is not food safe dye. Who knows where the silk came from our how it was colored. So be on the safe side you probably shouldn't eat them…
“Our Best Bites”

CROWN JEWEL CAKE

Your family will loves this dessert and it is so pretty to serve.

1 (3 oz) pkg. each of orange,cherry and lime jello
3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg lemon jello(same size as above)
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 envelopes Dream Whip
Prepare the first 3 pkgs of jello separately using 1 cup boiling water and 1/2 cup cold water for each. Pour the jello into loaf pans. Chill until firm and cut into cubes.
Combine pineapple juice and sugar, heat to boiling. Remove from heat and dissolve the lemon jello in it, add remaining cold water. Chill until syrupy..(texture of a raw egg white)
Meanwhile:
Mix the graham wafer crumbs with the melted butter. Press into an ungreased 9 by 11"pan, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish.
Prepare Dream Whip according to pkg and fold into syrupy lemon jello mixture. Gently mix in the jello cubes. Pour over the crumbs.
Garnish and chill for 8 hrs in fridge.
This makes a lovely Easter/Spring Cake!!


BLACK BEAN & PINEAPPLE SALAD OLE!

Makes 6 to 8 side salads (about 7 cups)
3 tbsp. Lime juice
3 tbsp. apricot preserves
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans rinsed and drained
2 cups Del Monte Gold® Extra Sweet pineapple chunks
2 medium ears of corn, cooked and kernels cut from cobs (about 1 ½ cups)
1/3 cup sliced roasted red bell pepper
1/3 cup diagonally sliced green onions
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 to 2 tsp. minced jalapeno pepper (optional)

To make dressing, in small bowl whisk together lime juice, preserves and oil.
In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add dressing; toss well. Chill 2 to 3 hours to blend flavors before serving.
Nutritional information per serving: calories 330, total fat: 3g, saturated fat: 0g, calories from fat: 25; protein: 12g, carbohydrates: 71g, cholesterol: 0mg, dietary fiber: 15g, sugar: 29g, sodium: 275mg
This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A and Folate, and a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese
This ingenious Pineapple Slicer will peel, core and slice a fresh pineapple in just 30seconds. It works like a corkscrew, removing the flesh in perfectly formed rings leaving the core in the shell. One turn, one slice, or the whole pineapple in one go.
It is made by Vacuvin and I got it at my Hy Vee grocery store...It works perfect and makes using a fresh pineapple so much easier...