When I was a child, my parents would load up the car every Easter and we’d head four hours north to my grandpa’s farm. It was the biggest event of the year for the grandkids; we all looked forward to it and would count the days until Easter arrived.

My grandpa spent the entire year shopping for stuffed animals and toys to hide. He dyed dozens of eggs every color of the rainbow, and there was always just one black egg. The black egg was the most sought after and the winner would get a huge stuffed animal to call their own.

The best part of the Easter egg hunt was always the hunt itself. There were so many eggs! You couldn’t go 10 feet without finding one after another after another. It was such a treat to spend days with my cousins, running free around the farm and getting into all sorts of mischief. There were chickens, goats, horses and cows. The trees were tapped for maple sap and we would gather fresh eggs each morning.

Because of all these special memories, Easter has always been a sentimental holiday for me. We do our own Easter egg hunts each year now but they’re much smaller, usually with just our girls and any other friends and neighbors who don’t have family nearby. I always make a big Easter brunch, too. This year, I really wanted to simplify our meal yet keep it special, and since Easter ham is always a must around here, I decided to use the leftovers to make a simple yet elegant hash brown quiche.

This quiche is very creamy from the egg yolks and the hash brown crust adds a wonderful contrast in texture. I used Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns so I could skip shredding all those potatoes and instead spend my time dyeing Easter eggs with the kids! I’ve been buying stuffed animals all year to get ready for our hunt and this year I’m adding one black egg to the mix. I think it would make my Grandpa smile to know that we’re keeping his tradition alive.

Happy Easter, Grandpa. I miss you and think of you every day.