Mother’s Day Brunch 2014

I hosted a Mother’s Day Brunch on Saturday for my Mom. We have come to the point in our lives where its much more fun to have an experience together rather than just giving a gift, so this brunch was my gift to her (along with the flowers on the table).  

Spring Tablescape Details:

– I really wanted to highlight the lilacs in bloom in my yard and the beautiful colors of Spring so I went for a floral centerpiece on the table. I used simple vases and mason jars and tied a ribbon around each.

– After I got the table set, it really lacked some pink so I tied the pink ribbon around the vase and added pink cardstock to the base of the flowers and to the napkin wraps (that previously just had navy cardstock).

– My awesome sister had the navy and white stripe fabric (that I’m going to turn into curtains for my nursery) and that was the perfect thing to really anchor the table.

 – I think once I added the pink smoothie with pink straws, the whole thing came together (sorry for the picture quality – it was cloudy and rainy and the lighting was hard to get just right)

 

Mother’s Day Brunch Menu:

I kept things simple because I was out of town the entire week leading up to the brunch and didn’t have a lot of prep time, but the food was fabulous!

We had:

– Pineapple, Strawberry, Banana and Coconut Milk Smoothie (I was going to keep track and share the recipe but I ended up adding a little more of this, a little more of that and a dash of that, until it tasted right and by then I couldn’t remember my ratios). The truth about this smoothie is that I’m allergic to pineapple – but I know my Mom LOVES it, so in the process of tasting the smoothie to make sure it was perfect, my mouth went completely numb and I had a hard time tasting the actual food at the brunch. Luckily there were leftovers and I can truly attest that everything tasted great! 🙂

– Raspberry and Orange sweet rolls with cream cheese frosting from Shirley’s Bakery (in Provo, UT)

– Strawberries, Raspberries, Pinneapple and fruit dip (1/2 tub of whipped topping mixed with an 8 oz Raspberry yogurt)

 – Then I followed this recipe and this recipe to create my own version of Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hashbrown Cups. They were delicious – especially with a little dash of hot sauce. I’ll post the recipe I came up with at the bottom.

– Here we are, the three generations: Me, my daughter (who got all dressed up for the party) and my Mother. 

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hashbrown Cups:

Ingredients:
20 oz bag frozen Hashbrowns (thawed) – I used about 3/4 of the bag
10 Eggs beaten
1/2 lb Mild Italian Sausage cooked and crumbled
1 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 Tbsp Butter (melted)
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Mix hashbrowns, Butter and Salt and Pepper in a bowl (I used about 1/2 tsp of salt and a good amount of pepper). Press a scoop into the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin tin. Try to make a complete layer without any holes. Bake in a 375 oven for 30 minutes. 

Beat eggs with an additional 1/2 tsp salt and a good dash of pepper in a bowl. Once you remove the hashbrowns from the oven, pour the eggs into each muffin tin just below the top of the rim. Divide and add the crumbled sausage to each tin and top with the shredded cheese. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 10 – 12 minutes until the eggs are set in the center. 

Makes 12 hashbrown cups.