Mothers shape our lives with their guidance, love, and support. This Mother’s Day, millions of families will celebrate the women in their lives with cards, bouquets, and other trinkets of appreciation. But perhaps the most well-loved Mother’s Day tradition is the family brunch. Instead of fighting the crowds at the local breakfast joint, try making brunch at home.
Sure, the prospect can seem daunting. Who wants to spend the morning tucked away in the kitchen while your kids, friends, and family have all the fun?
Organizing Brunch
A well-executed brunch is a well-organized brunch. Choosing easy dishes that the whole family can prepare is a win. The goal is a nourishing meal that everyone can enjoy and doesn’t leave anyone burdened with a heavy load of cooking and cleaning.Start by planning your menu. Look for easy recipes. Dishes you can make the night before and pop into the oven when you wake up are a win. Breakfast casseroles are perfect. Quick-prep dishes that you can throw together in the morning, such as fruit or vegetable salads, work well, too. Additionally, aim for a balance of dishes: sweet and savory, fresh and cooked. One main course and a few side dishes are enough to feed a medium-sized family and a few guests.
Once you have your recipes firmly decided, prepare your shopping list. Then, sketch out a loose idea of when to prep your dishes and when to put them to cook. For example, you might prep a breakfast egg casserole the night before that needs 45 minutes in the oven the next morning. While it bakes, you can set the table, prepare a few last-minute dishes, or put on a pot of coffee.
Mind Your Budget
The price of groceries continues to stay high, but it’s still more affordable to eat at home than to go out—especially when you’re feeding a crowd. When selecting dishes, shop from your own pantry first. If you want to serve a fruit salad, chop up the apples and oranges already in your kitchen before you shop for fresh berries. If you happen to have sausage but not bacon in your freezer, then sausage is on the menu.
Eggs are a great protein source and perfect for brunch. They also tend to be more budget-friendly than breakfast meats such as sausage, ham, and bacon. Dairy can help extend eggs even further. Frittatas, quiches, and casseroles that use them to bind other ingredients, such as vegetables, stretch them even further.
With a little know-how, an old loaf of bread can become the centerpiece of your meal. You can combine it with fruit, eggs, and cream to make a delicious French toast casserole or bread pudding. Or go savory by combining cubed stale bread with cheese, eggs, and meat for a delicious strata.
Lastly, keep to the seasons. While certain foods are affordable year-round, such as potatoes, carrots, and onions, others fluctuate in price. When you purchase fruit and vegetables at the peak of their season, they tend to be more affordable and better-flavored. If your favorite fresh produce isn’t in season, frozen is a budget-friendly choice and works just as well in most recipes.
Kid-Friendly Options
Look for ways for children to contribute to the meal. Helping with the meal builds a sense of self-efficacy and shows gratitude and appreciation for their mothers and grandmothers.Small children can assemble delicious breakfast parfaits by spooning yogurt, fruit, and granola into glasses. They can also crack eggs into a bowl, mix a batter, or scatter shredded cheese over a casserole before you place it in the oven. Older children can slice fruit and vegetables or place dishes that require baking into the oven. All children can set the table, pick flowers and place them in a vase, and help clean up after the meal.
A family brunch, well-planned and smartly budgeted, is a beautiful way to honor the hard work of the mothers in your life. By planning ahead and involving the whole family, you can execute a beautiful meal without much fuss or mess.
