They're cheesy, cheap and classic. What are talking about? Casseroles, of course! In this brand-new series food writer and blogger Emily Farris, author of "Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven" crafts tasty new casseroles exclusively for Slashfood readers. Green Eggs and Ham is her premier dish -- just in time for Easter.

As a kid, I never understood why Easter dinner was called "dinner" if it happened at noon. Luckily, one of the great things about being an adult is that we can make our own rules and name our own meals. And because I still can't bring myself to call a meal that happens that early "dinner," this year I'm hosting Easter brunch.

Am I making a 10-pound ham and scrambling three-dozen eggs while my guests drink free-flowing mimosas? Nope, this thing is happening potluck style. Like most people I know, I can't afford to host lavish brunches (not to mention dinners!), but wanted my meal to incorporate the different elements of Easter and, well, be a little brunch-y. So green eggs and ham it was, with eggs, ham, spinach, biscuits and my favorite thing in the world: cheese.

After a bit of experimentation, I wound up with a sort-of upside-down quiche with a biscuit crust, and who wouldn't go crazy for that? Although it'd be a wonderful meal for Easter brunch or supper, it's also a great way to use up that leftover Easter ham. Regardless, it's the sort of thing that would make Dr. Seuss -- or the Easter Bunny -- proud.

Just as April showers bring May flowers, so do the hard-boiled eggs that arrive via Passover seder or an Easter egg hunt bring us, well, a lot of hard-boiled eggs. What to do with them all?

Many of those who celebrate Easter open a lunch box the first Monday thereafter to be confronted with a big scoop of egg salad. And while that's always an option -- as is the Cobb Salad that centers many an April luncheon -- there are recipes out there beyond the standards. So hide your eggs and eat them too.

First, though, safety is critical. According to the USDA, Easter eggs are safe to eat after the hunt provided you follow a few basic guidelines: Use food-safe coloring to dye the eggs and refrigerate them within two hours of boiling them. Boiling an egg removes a protective coating that occurs naturally on the shell, which leaves the shell vulnerable to bacteria. After the hunt, discard any eggs whose shells have cracked or that nestled in a bacteria-friendly environment such as dirt, hay or anywhere accessible to pets. Don't keep hard-boiled eggs away from the fridge for longer than two hours and use them within seven days of boiling them.

Beyond the jump is a delicious recipe for using those safely-handled eggs. (Hint: It's a salad, but it's not egg salad).

Easter is almost upon us -- the wonderful holiday for excellent sweets and a proliferation of dyed, hard-boiled eggs. But rather than direct you to chemicals and pricey little packages to color your eggs this year, check out the video above, courtesy of Curbly.

They've taken a natural approach to egg coloring and offer some excellent techniques for getting both simple and fancy looking eggs with a mixture of all-natural ingredients -- many of which you can find in your kitchen. They might not be the dynamic, pastel colors that you can get from a box, but I love the great effects they get with simple additions like vegetable oil, wax and PVC tape. The video outlines just how they do it, and you can check out a text version here.

If you have any other all-natural color suggestions, please leave them in the comments below. Happy coloring!

Easter, both the mainstream and Orthodox ones have come and gone, leaving behind honest-to-God Spring (at least where I am. I hear tell that it's already Summer in some places). However, when I spotted this picture in the Slashfood Flickr pool, the colors and patterns caught my attention and spoke to me.

When I was growing up, my mom had a bowl of wooden eggs that were carved and painted. I loved to play with them, but wasn't allowed particularly often, as they were old and the paint was a bit flaky. They looked just like these Easter eggs.

Thanks Andreea, for adding your image to the pool and for giving me a brief trip in my childhood memories.

I can't believe it's Easter already. Time is just flying. Did you get the eggs decorated and hidden? Did the Easter Bunny leave a basket for all the kids? I remember as a kid that my favorite part of the holiday was the Easter egg hunt in the back yard. My dad would hide them all several times so we could have multiple hunts, and boy did he ever find some creative hiding places!

We have all of these traditions for Easter, but do you know where they came from? I surely could not answer that question until recently. I came across this really neat web page that explains the origins of several Easter traditions, such as where the Easter Bunny came from and why we decorate eggs. If you're interested in finding out the why's and wherefores of our Easter activities, you should check this out!

Ah, pastel tinged egg salads and deviled eggs, how freakish and lovely they are! As you may know, we are thick in the middle of Easter egg dyeing season and so I thought I'd post a fun, vibrant and appealing image of how one person chose to present her eggs a couple of years ago. I didn't actually think that I would be dyeing eggs this year, but I got an email just yesterday afternoon from some friends, inviting us over on Sunday afternoon to have dinner and tint some hardboiled eggs. I'm really looking forward to it!

A little spat has broken out in Switzerland over a trademark dispute over a red ribboned Easter bunny.

Chocolate makers Lindt says it holds the right, copyrighted since 2000, to manufacture golden Easter bunnies tied around the neck with red ribbon. In neighbouring Austria Hauswirth also makes a similar product and has done for 50 years.

Hauswirth is a small company in comparison to Lindt and refused suggestions from Lindt's lawyers to replace the wrapper with a bronze one or the red ribbon with a green one. A court order prevented Hauswirth with selling their bunnies this year; a move that prompted them to give away thousands of chocolates to children across Austria.

A further court date has been set for June.

Greenpeace has issued a warning regarding chocolate Easter eggs. According to the environmental group, some confectioners use genetically engineered ingredients and/or dairy from animals raised on genetically engineered feedstock. The group is rightfully  concerned about potential health risks.

One of the makers it has called to task is Cadbury. Among the Easter egg makers it considers friendly are Darrell Lea and Ferrero Rocher. While I'm skeptical of any so-called Frankenfoods, I'm rather conflicted now that I've seen the Cadbury Easter Egg Delight. It's the Russian nesting doll of candy  – an outer egg encases an inner one, which is in turn filled with individual chocolates. I think I'll take my chances!

[image:Cadbury]