While each holiday is special, food is so often at the heart of it all.
For Mother's Day, whether you're heading out for a hike with your mom, taking her shopping for an afternoon or playing board games in the house, you'll need to eat at some point.
To avoid filling up too quickly and immediately becoming tired for the day, serve yourself, Mom and any other family members a light brunch.
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Here are some easy and delicious brunch ideas to fill the table.
Check out these five ideas.
1. Fried zucchini
Ingredients for fried zucchini
- Zucchini
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil
Directions for fried zucchini
In a shallow pot, heat vegetable oil on medium heat on the stove top. You will need a pot filled at least 2 inches. The oil will need to be 350F and checked with a frying thermometer before adding the zucchini.
In a bowl, whisk together 2–3 eggs to start. If you need more egg wash, crack another egg as you go. Prepare a bowl or plate of ½ cup of all-purpose flour to start. Prepare an additional plate or bowl of one cup of breadcrumbs to start. If you need more flour or breadcrumbs, add more as you work through the recipe.
Wash the zucchini and cut each of the ends off. Cut the zucchini horizontally into fourths.
First, dip the sliced zucchini in the flour, then the egg wash, then the breadcrumbs. If you want an extra thick crust, dip the zucchini in the egg wash and the breadcrumbs for a second time.
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Set aside the raw and dipped zucchini on a dish. When all of your zucchini slices are ready, add one to the hot oil. (If the oil does not immediately sizzle around the vegetable, it is not hot enough.) Add as many zucchini slices as you can at once while also giving them space to fry.
Once golden brown, safely remove the fried zucchini and set them onto a plate lined with paper towels. Let the excess oil drip off.
Serve with homemade tomato sauce or a creamy dip.
2. Quiché
Ingredients for quiché
- Pie crust
- Eggs
- Ground sausage
- Bacon
- Mushrooms
- Cherry tomatoes
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Microgreens
Directions for quiché
When preparing for a brunch with a number of people, you’ll want to be strategic about which foods to choose that will be both delicious and filling.
Quiché is a perfect addition to brunch because it’s easy, tasty and nourishing.
Start by preheating your oven to 350F. In a 9-inch round pie pan, line the bottom and the sides with the pie crust. Whether you’re baking a store-bought crust or homemade, bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the crust is set.
Whisk together four to five eggs, depending on their size, and add to the pie crust. Place the cooked ground sausage and bacon in the egg mixture. Add the cooked mushrooms and sliced cherry tomatoes.
You can either top with cheddar cheese or add the shreds of cheese to the inside of the mixture. It’s recommended to add it inside so the melted cheese pulls apart in every bite.
Bake for 40 minutes. You’ll want the edges of the quiché to be set and the middle to be a little jiggly when shaken. Top with microgreens, slice and serve with hot sauce or red pepper flakes.
3. Asparagus and prosciutto pizza
Ingredients for asparagus and prosciutto pizza
- Pizza dough
- Cream cheese
- Asparagus
- Prosciutto
- Mozzarella cheese
- Fresh lemon juice
Directions for asparagus and prosciutto pizza
The earthy bitterness of asparagus and the delicate and salty taste of prosciutto are a perfect combination.
The only flavors to make the combo even tastier are the crunchiness of cooked pizza dough and the creaminess of cream cheese.
For this recipe, use homemade or store-bought dough.
For cooking homemade dough, preheat the oven to 450F. For store-bought dough, follow the instructions on the box.
On a cookie sheet, spray cooking oil and roll out pizza dough, leaving a little crust on the edges. Let the cream cheese sit on the counter away from refrigeration to soften. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for two to four minutes and remove with tongs.
Once soft, cover the pizza dough with cream cheese but avoid the crust. Add as much or as little as you’d like as the cream cheese will act as the "pizza sauce" for this meal. Pat the asparagus dry and scatter onto the dough atop the cream cheese. Space out slices of prosciutto and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
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Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice on the pizza once removed from the oven, slice and serve hot.
4. Greek yogurt bark
Ingredients for Greek yogurt bark
- Greek yogurt
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Granola
- Honey
Recipe for Greek yogurt bark
Plain Greek yogurt is a perfect base for a full meal. Though this recipe calls for fruit, granola and honey, feel free to play around with different textures and flavors to find the perfect assortment of toppings for your bark.
For this recipe, place parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and use a rubber spatula to cover the parchment in Greek yogurt. You’ll want the yogurt to be between one-quarter and one half-inch thick to hold the other ingredients.
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Slice the strawberries thin and place them apart in different places on the yogurt. Add blueberries to each bite as well. Sprinkle granola all over, making sure it’s stuck somewhere in the yogurt.
Place the cookie sheet on a level surface in the freezer and let it sit for three hours. Remove from the freezer and break into pieces of bark. Drizzle honey over each slice and serve. You can keep Greek yogurt bark frozen in an airtight container for two months.
5. Avocado toast board
Items to add to an avocado toast board
Toast and avocado, of course, smoked salmon, bacon slices or bits, cucumber, tomato, red onion, microgreens, arugula, feta cheese crumbles, goat cheese crumbles, capers, balsamic reduction, capers, lemon slices, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, sea salt and pepper are all delicious ingredients to use on top of avocado toast.
Directions for an avocado toast board
Shareable boards have become a recent fad. While the popular platters kicked off with a simple charcuterie board, they have evolved into butter, fruit, cocktail candy boards and more.
You can pretty much make a board out of anything if you have an assortment of foods that pair well together.
For this brunch board, gather a variety of food items that have the potential to be delicious together. While the main focus is the toast and the avocado, the toppings are equally important. Allow guests to serve themselves and top their own avocado toast from the board.
Be sure to toast the bread ahead of time and slice enough avocado to go around.
For protein, smoked salmon and bacon slices or bits are a tasty addition to avocado toast.
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Supporting the protein in nourishment, you’ll want to choose appetizing veggies that add texture and flavor. You can’t go wrong with sliced tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, microgreens and arugula.
Set aside a mini bowl full of capers and scatter lemon slices around the board.
When considering which dairy to include, crumbled feta and goat cheese are very flavorful but light enough to avoid overcrowding.
Set aside a mini bowl full of capers and scatter lemon slices around the board. Capers provide a lemony flavor but offer a texture lemon juice does not, and lemon slices deliver the juice without the brine bite.
For something a little sweeter, include a mini bowl and spoon for guests to drizzle balsamic reduction.
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Lastly, reserve room on the board for final topping touches like red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, sea salt and pepper.
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