Easter Brunch

My mother in law left today after being here for more than 2 weeks. More than half of that was spent house/cat sitting our sick little kitty cat.

When she made her plane reservation, she didn't realize that the day she chose to leave was Easter. Her plane left at 2, so since I couldn't make an Easter dinner, I decided to make an Easter Brunch. Granted, we BARELY celebrate Easter - it's definitely more for the kids & they like the candy.  But it was a good excuse to make a good brunch. I had a few things on my menu - nothing complicated. There was only 5 of us.

Breakfast Casserole
Fruit Salad
Pancakes for the kids.

First, the casserole.  I wanted bacon. We bought bacon the other night (we got yummy apple wood smoked bacon from the butchers counter at the grocery store!), so I decided that it would be the "main" ingredient in my breakfast casserole. I took to the internets and found one on Recipe Zaar. I don't know why, but I like that site for recipes. I decided on their "Breakfast Egg Casserole". Helpfully, I already had fresh spinach as well as eggs. I just needed some cheese and bread. I got work on cooking the bacon and wilting the spinach and then dicing up the bread for the casserole. Everything came together very quick and easily. Oh yeah, I added garlic. I add garlic to anything I can. I thought this might need a little extra something. It came out pretty well. David and I talked about the fact that we both felt it was missing something. We weren't sure what. I think perhaps some red pepper or Tabasco would help liven it up - or even a spicier sausage instead of bacon. It just needed a little "oomph".

After making the casserole and getting it into the oven, I started on the fruit. Very simple - nothing fancy. Cut up fresh strawberries & kiwi, added some organic blueberries and last but not least, some red grapes. Mixed it, ta da! Fruit salad. I don't like anything extra on my fruit. Just the way it is, thank you very much!

Finally, I needed something for the children. Pancakes. Now, I have definitely made pancakes using bisquick, but I wanted to use something else. Something more from scratch. I recalled Alton Brown making a "mix" for pancakes. A dry mix that could be ready to go at any time once you add the wet ingredients. I went for it. Super easy stuff. If you know me, you know I love Alton. I love knowing WHY things do things in cooking. I could go on... I won't.

Anyway, pancakes. So, I made the pancakes.

Wow. They were great! Never ever ever again will I use a mix. There's no reason. These were 100x better. Even better - the mix made about 20 so I made them all and froze them! Now, the kids have yummy, made from scratch pancakes for breakfast before school. I think I will do this more often. Oh yes, and as a bonus, I made them in the shape of Mickey Mouse! I bought a Mickey pancake former when we were at Disney. What a treat on Easter. (one more note about pancakes, I am kind of a syrup snob now... no more fakey syrup. Maple all the way. REAL maple!)

Often, I hear how people say they don't cook because it's too hard. It's SO not! This morning, I got a nice Mocha Latte, watched the Princess and the Frog movie and made an entire Easter Brunch - all before noon. I wasn't rushed, it was easy and best of all it was all from SCRATCH!

Hippie Food

I'm persistently on the hunt for quick, healthy snacks. For those who don't know me, I eat fairly constantly throughout the day. I have low blood sugar, which is always sneaking up, making me very very cranky. I didn't realize this until I was way into adulthood, which is too bad since I could have avoided many unpleasant situations. Therefore eating every couple of hours helps my head not to spin and quiets my inner bitch... for most things anyway. =)

A granola bar is a yummy and healthy way to elevate my blood sugar dips. There are endless recipes and variations, including: the marshmellow rice crispy type, the smooth peanut butter type, and my all-time favorite, the oatmeal dried fruit type. I don't need to spike my blood sugar, so less sugar is better.

Making your own granola, whether in cereal or bar form, is fun, makes the house smell incredible, cheap (usually), and very easy. Alton Brown makes a fine oat granola bar, but there are many ways to alter it. Here are the basics. Toast a combination of some or all of the following ingredients on a sheet pan in a 350' oven for 10-15 min, stirring often so it doesn't burn (do *NOT* let this stuff burn, so watch it carefully. Burn=Bitter=Bad):

• 2-3 cups of oats (old fashioned works well)
• wheat germ
• seeds: sunflower, flax (very good for you, lots of omega-3's)
• nuts: almond, pecan, walnut, whatever
• dried coconut

On the stove, melt a combination of the following:

• Sweetener/Sticky Stuff: Honey, maple syrup, brown sugar
• oil or butter
• flavoring such as: vanilla extract, orange oil, etc

Once toasted, mix with melted gooey-ness, and add:

• dried fruit
• more of whatever seems like a good idea

Mix and press into a large pan using parchment paper (or butter the pan to prevent sticking), and press down hard to meld together. Bake at 300' for 25 min or so - until golden brown. Cool for a couple of hours and cut into bars. Easy!

Pam came over today and we made this together in about 20 min (not including bake time. obviously.).