The Charm of St. Patrick's Day

Our luck was good on Saturday for St. Patty's Day. A sunny day, less wind, and a family gathering to celebrate birthdays and a baptism. This brunch menu worked well for preparing ahead of time and easy to serve. Cinnamon rolls were made the evening before (favorite recipe on Nov. 17, 2017 blog). The fruit salad, greek yogurt, and breakfast casserole in a slow cooker were easy to assemble earlier in the morning. And the sausage cooked in the kitchen grill while the coffee perked.

Fruit salad is always a tasty and nutritious part of a brunch. I like to use a bag of mixed frozen fruit (Sam's Club has Dole frozen fruit in 5 bag packages). If the fruit pieces are large, rough chop them. I added frozen blueberries and a few more frozen strawberries (from the frozen fruit boxes our UMW sells as a fund raiser) and fresh fruit of bananas and kiwi. The dressing is a mixture of agave syrup (or you could use honey), lemon juice (that helps keep the fruit from browning also), and crystalized ginger. You could also add poppy seeds.

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE (SLOW COOKER)     

Ingredients:

15-18 oz frozen hash brown potatoes (thawed)

12 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

3-4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 (12-oz) packaged shredded cheese

Directions:

1.     Spray the crock of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread hash browns to cover the bottom of the crock.

2.     Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl.

3.     Spread crumbled bacon over hash brown and spread cheese over bacon. Pour egg mixture over cheese.

4.     Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

(adapted from AllRecipes)

recipe on Nov. 18, 2017 blog