Easter Brunch

David's family visited us in April this year to celebrate his birthday and Easter! For our Easter meal we made a brunch to enjoy after church.

To make the breakfast foods a little bit more fun for this special occasion I came up with some skewered hors d'oeuvres to add to the mix.

roasted tomatoes on fresh zucchini with a dollop of goat cheese

halved cherry tomatoes with a basil leaf and fresh mozzarella cheese
balsamic vinegar is drizzled on top

pineapple, strawberries and green grape fruit skewers

These 3 skewered items were served with
roasted asparagus, scrambled eggs & diced ham and a wonderful skillet apple cake!

Granola Bars

I love these granola bars! They are thick and chewy and a great on-the-go breakfast!

GRANOLA BARS
This recipe is adapted from a King’s Arthur Flour recipe.

Note
This is a very flexible recipe. You can add any variety of fruits, nuts, or seeds to it.

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (or opt to use gluten free oats)
1/3 cup quick rolled oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
2-3 cups dried fruits and nuts
1/3 cup peanut butter or almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon water

Suggestions for fruit/nuts to put into recipe
Dried Fruit: cranberries, cherries, apricots, apples
Nuts: pecans, walnuts
Seeds: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
Powders: wheat germ
Other: coconut, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8x2 pan with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if you’re using it) until the mixture is evenly crumbly.

Spread in the prepared pan, pressing firmly to ensure the granola is molded to the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on the back of it.)

Bake the bars for 30-40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges. They may seem under-baked, but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool. Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. Then, chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Use a serrated knife to cut the bars into squares. (Chilling in the freezer helps to further set the bars and aid in the process of cutting them without creating crumbly bars.)

To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.

Hello Birdie Brunch

At another awesome brunch party we decorated with a bird theme. My friend, Kristen, had the tan-colored tablecloths, I had blue napkins and the rest of the decor came together pretty easily. With the versatility of bird themes (baby showers, spring parties, housewarming parties...) and the ease of putting this party together, you should try this!

For the tables we used a few small bird's nests. Then, added in moss, small blue birds and tan speckled eggs. We elevated the nests on short candle holders. To continue the theme I purchased inexpensive tiny wreaths and used them as napkin rings.

For the buffet table I purchased some fabric that had a twig pattern and used it as the tablecloth. To create some dimension we elevated some of the food onto fabric covered foam. And, we used a vase full of branches for the centerpiece.

Brunch Menu

Bacon Onion Pinwheels
Monkey Bread Bites

Beach Brunch

Each quarter a group of women from my church come together on a Saturday morning for brunch and fellowship. The tradition was started a few years ago by Denise, a friend of mine who also has a cooking blog. In the last year, Kristen has started hosting and coordinating these brunches. She comes up with fun theme ideas and a group of us help decorate and contribute our recipes. It is such an awesome time and I always find myself looking forward to it.

Beach Brunch Table Decorations

Buffet Table Centerpiece

Food Buffet