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" As I write this, I&amp;#039;m under the influence of a food-induced coma. This was brought on by a delicious Italian Easter feast at my brother and sister-in-law&amp;#039;s house this afternoon under a beautiful, blue sky. My kids and I are home now, rolling into the house feeling way-too-full as evidenced by our bloated, oversized bellies. We&amp;#039;ve had Thanksgiving and Easter at their house for as long as I can remember. They have a large, beautiful home that can fit our entire family plus my sister-in-law&amp;#039;s family as well. They always put out a huge spread, usually with some form of elegant roast or turkey plus several Italian dishes, and about twelve different desserts (I kid you not). This doesn&amp;#039;t even count the appetizers, which include enough shrimp cocktail to feed a small city, cheese and crackers, bruchetta and assorted breads with exotic oils and tapenade. It&amp;#039;s a foodie&amp;#039;s dream and we all look forward to it every year. Like all of us, my brother and his wife have been hit by the recession. As a small business owner, his livelihood has suffered and his wife is now going back to work. The bottom line is that money is tight. So tight, that they actually contemplated not having Easter dinner this year and nobody blamed them. While everyone brings something, the financial burden always falls on the host and we all understood completely. But as usual, they didn&amp;#039;t disappoint. They decided to host the holiday, but they cut out a lot of the extras that would hurt their wallet. The appetizers consisted of vegetables on the grill and a homemade antipasto to die for. There was no shrimp this year and no one cared. Everything was so delicious and I ate so much that I was almost too full for dinner. Almost.  Instead of an expensive roast and ham, we had delicious homemade lasagna with homemade sauce, chicken cacciatore and pasta. Her father brought a simple and delicious salad of baby spinach and strawberries and everything tasted perfect. There were three desserts and we somehow made room for them, despite being ready to burst from dinner. I was so proud of them. Two people who pride themselves on putting out only the very best of everything realized that they could still do that, but not go broke in the process. They were pleased, we were pleased and we still had the same wonderful family day that we&amp;#039;ve always had.  I think we all realize now that this is what matters the most. Did you save money on Easter Dinner this year? Share with me how you cut back. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a43116/a-lesson-for-easter-7172/>