Santa Barbara Bay(R) Helps Make Easter More Joyful for the Stressed Holiday Host

DALLAS, April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Easter weekend often brings families together to celebrate and enjoy Easter egg hunts on the lawn, mountains of candy piled on the table and for some, elegant and stressful family dinners. With the excitement of families gathering for the first time since the holidays, hosts often worry about entertaining and feeding the masses. This Easter, why not serve up a menu of semi-homemade dishes that will not only impress your guests, but allow hosts to spend less time cooking and more time joining in on the annual Easter egg hunt.

The entertaining experts at Santa Barbara Bay, makers of best-selling refrigerated deli dips available nationwide, suggest these semi-homemade recipes, made using store-bought ingredients, to allow hosts to spend less time in the kitchen this Easter, and more time joining in the family festivities.  Featuring Santa Barbara Bay's new line of All Natural Greek Yogurt Dips, these recipes are also something hosts can feel good about serving the entire family.

Stuffed Berkshire Pork Chops (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces Santa Barbara Bay® All Natural Dip, Spinach
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 4 pork chops
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine spinach dip, bread crumbs, cheese, celery, red onion and roasted garlic. Slice each pork chop horizontally half way through, creating a "pocket" for the stuffing mixture.  Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the stuffing. Place stuffed chops in a prepared baking pan and place in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Greek Cobb Salad (Serves 4)

Ingredients for dressing:

• 12 ounces Santa Barbara Bay® All Natural Greek Yogurt Dip, Zesty Ranch
• 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Ingredients for salad:

• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup pitted premium olives of choice
• 1 cup lettuce, shredded
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1 cup bacon, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 1 cup feta cheese crumbles
• 1 cup chick peas
• 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Directions for dressing: In a blender or with an immersion stick blender, mix ranch dip with vinegar and oil to create Greek Ranch vinaigrette.

Directions for salad: Assemble chopped ingredients in rows across dinner plates and serve with 2 ounces of homemade vinaigrette.

For full product details and additional recipe suggestions, visit http://www.santabarbarabay.com.

SOURCE Santa Barbara Bay