ideas for an easy brunch

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yogurt bar Follow Me on Pinterest

Every few Fridays or so, the ladies and I brunch (<—-I love saying that ;) We head to the Red Fox Inn, order our usual (Beth and I are always Eggs Benedict, subbing the home fries for the bacon potato cake) and a Bloody Mary.

Or two. Depends how the week went.

It’s a great way to catch up with everyone, have some laughs and start the weekend off right.

So when Dannon called and asked if I would be willing to host a casual brunch, I jumped on it. I mean, it’s brunch. Brunch is even better than brinner.

I swapped the Bloody Mary’s for Mimosa’s and decided to branch out a bit, making healthier recipes instead of crispy bacon.

{Yes, I did miss my bacon. Yes, I did tear up just a little bit. Thank you for asking.}

I went super casual and made it all family-style. Here was our menu:

Oh, and eggs and bacon…

bacon and eggs Follow Me on Pinterest

I had to fit some bacon in somewhere. I wish I could take credit but the idea came from Pinterest. So cute they had to be included.

The bread was delicious. Loved it and would make it again in a second. But next time I’ll actually believe the directions and let it cool before slicing. It was a hot mess (literally! HA!) but it was still plated and served. It was that good.

lemon blueberry bread Follow Me on Pinterest

It would make killer muffins, too.

My personal favorite was the yogurt parfait bar. I love using mini dessert dishes for things like this. I scooped Dannon Activia Harvest Picks (new, and so good!!) into serving bowls alongside bowls of honey-almond granola, grape nuts, fresh berries and toasted pecans.

yogurt parfait Follow Me on Pinterest

Healthy and so good! I love the creamy yogurt with the crunchy granola and sweet, soft berries.

We all had a great time. Our guests stayed until two o’clock and we ate ourselves silly (the mimosas had a slight hand in that). A wonderful way to ring in daylight savings time!

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. Cool.

I have partnered with Dannon to help promote their Harvest Picks Yogurt. I have been compensated for my time commitment to review this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish
positive comments.

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