This week I received a message from Meta. It was very brief, had no information other than this and in the “learn more“ link, it basically said that I had posted an inappropriate photo of some sort. I think. I’m not sure. Maybe? Lol.
Whatever way you look at it, I did no such thing.
The thing is, I’m not really a social media person lol. I know it appears that I am, but I use a third-party app to schedule posts, which means I don’t actually go ON social media. Hence why my engagement isn’t spectacular lol. I mean I try to remember to post birthday messages and if I do scroll, the only thing I do is like. No comments, no negativity, no fights. My blog is for me. Don’t get me wrong, I am SO happy for the people that I have met along the way, that have become followers over the last 10 years or new readers that peek in every once in a while for a book review or a recipe. Thank you for stopping by! Mostly though, I put it out there for me, my family and friends, oh and I LOVE the blogging community. I enjoy link parties and being inspired by other bloggers and interacting with them. It’s fun. Especially on days when I’m experiencing more intense symptoms and my body won’t/can’t move.
I have a strict schedule lol I post my blog on my personal Facebook page at 7:30pm every Tuesday evening. That’s all. I post my weekly pictures for my family every Monday evening. That’s all. Sometimes I will share a reel of a fun local activity we did over the weekend. Nothing else. 2-3 posts a week. I don’t post ridiculous made up political memes that lie to sow hate and anger, I don’t post invasive and cruel drone imagines of homeless camps and I have never and never will post ANYTHING against any minority community. Ever.
I have blog accounts (HoneyBears & SydneyBeans) for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. I schedule on a third party app that posts to my blog Facebook page and my Instagram. I post 1 picture and 1 reel a day. I also post our family weekly photo recap every Monday. Absolutely NOTHING inappropriate has been posted, unless they mean those boudoir shots I did 6 years ago lol but even those were tasteful!
This is the Facebook page that is being suppressed (my blogging profile) along with my Instagram and Threads. I think that I even know why. Last week, on Threads, I shared my view of the Canadian opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre as he went to the USA. We all know how I feel about travelling to a country that has a leader that doesn’t recognize our sovereignty, I’m NOT down with it and have even stoped following my favourite Canadian influencers, friends and family for doing so. After I posted my opinion, I went from 100,000’s views to having 21 views.
21 views LOL.
I don’t monetize my blog so this isn’t hurting me, It’s absolutely shocking to me though! I will keep on doing what I do but if you want to share my posts (unlike Meta lol) please feel free to do so! As always I appreciate your support, thank you 😊.
This year we will be spending Easter here at home. Last year we surprised the Kids with a weekend away in Vancouver. We will be having my BIL’s famous ham and this year he is going to make smoked salmon too and probably a plethora of delicious fresh baked bagels, paska and sourdough. I can’t wait!!!!! I may not have to make a big Easter dinner this year but we like to make some treats to get into the springy Easter season.
Ninja picked up a few fryer chickens a while back because he likes to make them and use the leftovers for sandwiches throughout the week. This Creamy Lemon & Herb Roasted Chicken with Potatoes would be perfect for a family Easter dinner! Our big family dinner always has ham and we are all happy for it lol but some people don’t do ham and chicken is their jam, this is a spring chicken that was juicy, flavourful, and looks super fancy but was really easy to make.
Recently, Ninja and I had an arugula salad that we both really enjoyed! This Roasted Carrot & Arugula Salad went perfectly with the chicken, looked beautiful and was so tasty, we ate the whole salad! Arugala has a bit of a peppery taste to it that really went well with the earthy carrots and salty feta. I bought pine nuts for this salad. Pine nuts are INCREDIBLY expensive. I bought a little at the Bulk Barn and almost died at the cost!!! You can use almonds or pecans and even walnuts (not springy but more cost effective) if you want. The pine nuts were really goo though, just saying ;).
These Easter Bunny Cookies are adorbs! I asked HBear to describe them and she said, they are soft, chewy and sweet and I couldn’t agree more! I love how soft and chewy these cookies are, like a really good chocolate chip cookie. My favourite part was the cookie itself, I was so delicious! Like a chocolate chip cookie dough without all the chocolate! You have to work quickly to press the coloured chocolate into the tops, HBear helped me and the effort is SO worth it.
I made these Pink Velvet Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast when my nieces slept over but they would be perfect for Easter breakfast. They were delicious but I wish that I had added raisins. I didn’t because I wasn’t sure everyone likes raisins in their cinnamon rolls but I should have trusted, we all wished for raisins lol. Next time!
These Easter Bunny Coconut Tails are absolutely adorable! I made them for HBear because she is a huge coconut freak and always asks me to make coconut treats but she is the only one who will eat them. She helped me roll them in the coloured coconut and picked the colours. I used gel food colouring and I should have used liquid food colouring as gel was difficult to coat the coconut in. We used our hands to really distribute the gel colouring as much as possible. HBear LOVES them! We put them in a freezer bag and she pops one out in the morning and puts it in her bag for lunch so they will last a few weeks at least lol.
Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd A book set in or about the Middle East. I picked this book for Easter because, well for obvious reasons lol. In 2012 a scrap of papyrus was found indicating that Jesus had a wife named Ana. It was later proven to be fake, but this book imagines, what type of woman Ana, the wife of Jesus would be. Ana has a deep need to tell stories specifically women’s stories and the injustices that they endure. I haven’t read a book from this historical perspective before, Jesus’s origin story. It was very interesting and I ended up Googling a lot of things. Ana knows just as her husband knows that they each have a longing to be more, to leave their voices for the future.
Creamy Lemon & Herb Roasted Chicken with Potatoes
4
servings10
minutes90
minutesIngredients
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
1 lemon
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5-6 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pats
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped
1.5 lbs baby potatoes, cut into halves
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 425F.
Add the chicken to a Dutch oven. Pierce the lemon with a knife in several places, and then insert the lemon in the chicken's cavity. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Place the rosemary sprigs, garlic cloves, and butter around the chicken. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven. Cover and place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep the oregano, tarragon, and potatoes.
Add the cream, white wine, oregano, tarragon, and potatoes to the pot. Place it back in the oven and cook for another 45 minutes, uncovered.
Before serving, remove the rosemary sprigs. Garnish with parsley.
Roasted Carrot & Arugula Salad
4
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
2 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
4 oz Feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 cups arugula
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together the carrots, pine nuts, and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread out in an even layer.
Roast the carrots for about 30 minutes until they are soft and the edges start to turn brown. Stir them twice while roasting. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
Transfer the carrots to a large bowl. Drizzle with vinegar and honey. Toss to coat. Add the cheese, cranberries, and arugula. Mix gently to combine.
Easter Bunny Cookies
18
servings15
minutes11
minutesIngredients
1 ⅔ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chocolate pastel M&Ms
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepared a cookie sheet by placing a sheet of parchment paper on it.
Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Directions StepAdd the flour mixture a little at a time and beat until just combined.
Scoop the cookie dough (about 2-3 tablespoons) and place it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving two to three inches between cookies for spreading. Place only about six cookies on the baking sheet so you will have time to decorate them with bunny ears before they cool after baking.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
Remove from the oven and immediately press the M&Ms into the cookies to form a bunny head. It will take nine M&Ms for each cookie. Press a flat M&M into the cookie with the M side facing down. Then, turn an M&M on its side and press it into the cookie above the flat M&M to form the first bunny ear. Add another one next to it to create the second ear. Move the cookies to a cooling rack.
If the dough gets too hot, it can spread too much during baking to insert M&Ms. To prevent it from overheating, place the mixing bowl (between batches of cookies) in the refrigerator.
Pink Velvet Cinnamon Rolls
12
servings20
minutes2.5
hours25
minutesIngredients
1 cup buttermilk, warmed
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2-4 drops pink food gel
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons cinnamon
- Icing
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk
1-2 drops pink food colouring
Directions
Warm the milk until just lukewarm. Stir in yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
Add melted butter, egg, egg yolk, remaining sugar, and vanilla. Mix to combine.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cocoa powder, and food colouring.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes).
Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, 1–1.5 hours.
Roll the dough into a 16x12-inch rectangle on a floured surface.
Spread softened butter on the dough. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon.Starting at the long side, tightly roll the dough into a log. Slice into 12 rolls.
Arrange rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover and let rise until puffy, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 22–25 minutes, or until lightly golden.
While rolls bake, prepare glaze: Beat together butter, icing sugar, vanilla, food colouring and milk until smooth and pourable. Drizzle with glaze.
Easter Bunny Coconut Tails
36
servings20
minutesIngredients
5 cups unsweetened medium shredded coconut
2 cups unsweetened fine shredded coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup icing sugar
liquid food colouring
Directions
Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, melted butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth and glossy.
Stir in the medium shredded coconut and icing sugar until evenly combined and thick. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up.
Divide the fine shredded coconut into separate bowls. Add a few drops of liquid food colouring to each bowl and mix until evenly tinted. I used gel and it didn't spread evenly. I used my hands to mix it up and get it more even.
Portion the chilled mixture into about 1½ teaspoon amounts and roll into smooth balls. Roll each ball in the coloured coconut to coat completely and place on a tray.
Refrigerate the coated balls for about 1 hour until firm.
Thank you to A Pinch of Joy for featuring my March: 7 Day Meal Plan post at their Busy Monday 714 Link Party last week.
First week of Spring Break! Grad dress fitting, a birthday party, the Girls got haircuts, SBean and I went shopping, HBear worked and had a date day and sleepover with my Sis. They went shopping, out for Korean dinner, and then they saw Project Hail Mary. SBean had a date with Papa and they went to Cue’s Gameroom to play pool, out for pedis, shopping, bubble tea and then dinner at Yellow Dog Brewing. Ninja and I had a date wine tasting at the new winery in Lake Country, Azhadi Vineyards and it was stunning! SBean and Ninja also began painting her bedroom to make it more as she says, highschooly ☺️ and I finished my Goodreads Winter Challenge!
4 thoughts on “Social Media & Easter Treats”
All your recipes look yummy! Sorry to hear that happened with your social media accounts. It is very frustrating but I am glad that it doesn’t hurt you financially at least.
Thank you it is very frustrating. It’s hard to build a community of readers who like to cook and also have an opinion lol. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, I appreciate it.
I don’t have anything political on a page I have about vintage movies and TV shows and this week they told my page doesn’t offer any value and I won’t be approved for monetization. I guess that is fine but I’ve seen some really stupid pages that are earning money and my followers (10K) think my page has value so whatever. What is weird, though, is I have 2.5K followers on my blog and writing page and they started monetizing me and saying I earned money on my reels. Okay? I guess. On Instagram I was told I’d get bonus money for content (except reels) that hits a certain (that I don’t know) number of views and so far I’ve made probably $5 in six months. lol.
I don’t know what their deal is, in other words.
Also, I love these recipes and have saved this post so I can try them.
It’s a strange world out there lol. I started my blog way before Instagram or influencers were a thing. I’m thankful that I don’t get penalized monetarily for voicing my opinion but I’m sad that we live in a world that has this type of censorship. I’m sorry that algorithm isn’t working for you or anybody from what I’m hearing lol. I hope you enjoy the recipes, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing.