A couple of weeks ago we hosted a “brunch” to celebrate my birthday. We wanted to keep it low-key and have the usual great friends/great food combination. I put together a very simple menu that required little preparation besides grocery shopping. We set out brunch start time to noon which is why these ideas are also perfect if you are having a luncheon – it is really one in the same. Noon on Sunday worked out perfectly. I was still able to get up and get a workout at the gym before getting busy in the kitchen!
We had a fabulous brunch and I wanted to share what I served. Unfortunately, we were having such a great time that we realized after everyone had left we had not taken a SINGLE picture! I am sure it was a freudian slip on my part because I figure if I don’t capture any of the birthday celebration moments then it didn’t happen and I can drag my twenties out a bit longer. So, I am going to use pictures from the internet to give you an idea of all the dishes we had that day. Thanks to all who came and celebrated with us!
The SIMPLE show-stopper seemed to be the little quiches I made. I made mine in individual serving dishes from the brand Libbey (that my wonderful boyfriend got me for Christmas). They look like this:
These can be found pretty much everywhere these days. I see them at Bed Bath & Beyond all the time and that is where he got them. But I recommend getting them from Michael’s using your Michael’s app coupon. I bought some of the same “tasting” style dishes there and got them for $10 with my 50% off coupon.
The quiches themselves are simple and you can’t go wrong with them because you can add or take out anything you like. Here is what I used in mine:
2 eggs per individual quiche (I did two batches of 6 each – so I used 12 eggs total)
A splash of cream to whip in with the eggs
Spinach
Diced Tomatoes
Chopped Onion
Fresh Thyme (save some for garnish as well)
Ham (I did 6 with ham and 6 without)
Thinly sliced potato
Feta (or any cheese you like – just as an FYI – I decided to purchase Fat Free Feta and I don’t recommend it because it was so dry.)
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease each dish with a very small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I used a paper towel to do this. If you are fancier than me then you will use your EVOO spritzer bottle. I put the potato on the bottom so it will crisp up nicely and make a bit of a crust for your little Quiche. Then I put all the veggies and meat in. Whip the eggs with some salt, pepper, splash of cream and garlic powder. Pour that on top the veggies. Sprinkle on the feta and thyme. I put on the individual dishes in a larger casserole dish and put water around them so they bake evenly. They take about 25-30 minutes to bake and you know they are ready when a knife comes out clean.
If you don’t want to buy the individual dishes then you can make these in your muffin tin. They will come out like this:
These are cute also. Since your guests will likely have a couple of these you could have more variety. Here are some ideas of things to add: use O’Brien style hashbrowns instead of thinly sliced potato, chicken or turkey sausage, bacon, chives, green pepper, hot peppers (for a spicy one), black beans for a mexican style…I think you get the idea!
Next I also had a plate of nitrate-free lunchmeats – sliced ham, chicken and turkey breast. The meats were accompanied by some scrumptious croissants which are always a hit. I bought a box of fresh croissants from the bakery and thought I would have leftovers – I was sadly mistaken! I am glad everyone helped me enjoy them because they are definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. To add to the meats and croissants there was a plate of fresh baby lettuces, sliced tomatoes and onions.
The salads were my favorite part! The first salad was an avocado/strawberry salad that I found on Pinterest.
It is very simple – I used Taylor’s Organic 50/50 mix of baby lettuce and spinach with avocado, strawberries, very thinly sliced onion and sliced almonds. Serve with your favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette on the side. So delicious. I had the leftover for lunch the next with turkey.
The other salad I made for this brunch was a fruit salad of fresh blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate arils and raspberries. Everyone kept asking me what I added to the fruit salad and I did not add a thing – that combo of fruit just tastes and looks amazing. I did somehow manage to take a picture of the fruit salad: 
To round out the brunch, we had individual parfaits of low-fat organic vanilla yogurt with a sprinkle of granola and blueberries on top. They were surprisingly good and looked awesome in the little individual dishes I put them. I used the Libbey Just Tasting Mini Flare glasses – they come with adorable little spoons. This is the set I got at Michael’s for $10. 
We did also had a couple of small cheesecakes that we got from Wegman’s as added desserts for my birthday. We had a chocolate cheesecake and a berry one. They were great and the small size was perfect the number of people we had and for display purposes also. If only I had pictures. That is Ben’s job from now on!
Here are some ideas for additional recipes I would have served if I had more time/bigger crowd:
Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizzas
Hummus and Avocado on Toast with Tomato
Homemade Pitas and Hummus
For beverages we served mimosas. One of our friends brought champagne and Trop50 orange juice. I bought spicy V8 for Bloody Mary’s but we ended up very satisfied with just the mimosas.
I think a great time was had by all. That was the goal! I always want my guests to go home feeling full but not bloated and weighed down so I think this selection of food did the trick. After we ate we went through a whole deck of “Table Topic” cards. If you have not seen these check them out here: http://www.tabletopics.com/. They are surprisingly handy to have around. They are so simple – just cards with questions to get your guests talking. I learn something new about my friends and family every time!
Thanks to all who came out to celebrate with me and happy brunching/lunching to all!!
iheartsweetpeas 