Easter is almost upon us and this mama is scrambling for a menu. This year, we are prepared for the bunny business, we got a babysitter and between dinner and a movie, the hubs and I hit up Target and grabbed all the goodies. I am so thankful we accidentally gave ourselves too much time, one less thing on my ever growing list of to-dos. I have mentioned in the past that Easter has always been a big deal to me, I have the fondest memories with my family. I think because it isn’t as stressful as Christmas with the expectations of presents or the pressure of the food being perfect as Thanksgiving. It is a fresh start with the warmer weather and just a time to get together and celebrate. When I was a child, I didn’t like chocolate (insanity, I know) and I always asked for anything but a chocolate bunny, and every dang year, guess what I got? A CHOCOLATE FREAKING BUNNY! It’s all good though, I sold those melty hoppers at school the next day for a buck or something.

Back to the food, we often had lamb at our Easter, not traditional for Americans but pretty standard for pretty much every other country in the world. We usually roast a leg of lamb or make a roast beef for our Easters. I wanted to make something a little different and meatballs instantly came to mind. Everyone loves to pop them in their mouths and they are the perfect vessel to introduce new things to people. My girls inhaled an insane amount of these and neighbors loved the two sauces I served alongside for an impromptu happy hour.

I was trying to decide between a creamy sauce and a chimichurri inspired sauce so I went to my besties for their opinions. Naturally they each wanted different sauces so I thought, “I bet everyone would like to have options, make them BOTH!” Each sauce has the same herbs as the meatballs along with some additions to make them pop. The creamy sauce is dairy free with the use of cashew yogurt making it light and bright with some lemon juice and zest. Chimichurri is made over with the addition of a bunch of mint, the bestie of lamb! You can’t go wrong with either and you should make both, they add something special to all your dishes if you have any leftovers - Salmon with the creamy sauce is mind blowing!

What are your go-to Easter dishes?

Herby Lamb Meatballs

1 pound ground lamb
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup almond flour (or gluten free breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup onion, shredded on a box grater (about half a medium onion)
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons chives, chopped
2 Tablespoons dill, chopped
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

- Preheat the broiler to high. Spray a baking sheet with oil.

- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until just combined. Form into 1” meatballs and place on a baking sheet. Spray with additional oil before placing in the oven

- Broil for 7 minutes then flip over and broil an additional 5-7 minutes until cooked thoroughly. Serve warm or room temperature.

Creamy Lemon Herb Sauce

1/2 cup cashew yogurt or yogurt of choice
1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon chives, chopped
1 Tablespoon dill, chopped
zest of 1 whole lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

- In a small bowl, stir ingredients together. Store in a mason jar or tight lidded container in the refrigerator

Minty Chimichurri

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup mint, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

- In a jar, combine all ingredients, seal and shake vigorously until slightly thickened. Store in jar in the refrigerator.

The nice thing is that you can chop a bunch of herbs and you can use them in the meatballs and sauces.

Meatballs make it easy, throw everything in a bowl and MIX!

Get those meatballs onto a baking sheet and spray the tops with a little oil as well, it helps brown them. I love to broil my meatballs, so much cleaner and you know they are cooked through, unlike when you pan sear them.

While those meatballs cook, please make the sauces. This is the Creamy Lemon Herb sauce, it is as simple as mixing everything in a bowl. The Minty Chimichurri is just as simple, get everything into a jar and shake it like you mean it. Make sure you have some cute toothpicks or little forks for everyone to dig in with, I grabbed mine at Whole Foods!