Hosting Brunch at Home

It's no secret I'm a big fan of brunch food and luckily Orlando has some amazing brunch spots to chose from when we have a free Sunday. It's also a great time to reconnect with friends and end the weekend with some good food. I've never hosted brunch at home but I think 2016 is the year to finally make it happen. Here's some great brunch menu food and drink recipes that would make a great Sunday Brunch spread for entertaining guests.

Baked Eggs in Prosciutto filled Portobello Mushrooms

French Toast Sticks

Breakfast Pizza

Poppy Seed Pancakes

Ham & Cheese Spinach Puffs

Brussel Sprout Hash with Soft Poached Eggs

Petite Crust-less Quiche

Cantaloupe and Raspberry Yogurt Parfait

And some delicious drink ideas for Sunday brunch.

Cranberry Brunch Punch

The Ultimate Blood Mary

Mimosa Bar

And some strawberry infused water for rehydration.

Broccoli Salad

Kate and I are going to be ending the Recipe Swap after this week, but we've had so much fun hosting this link up the past two years and loved having so many of you join us! Thank you all!

 

I made this recipe for a potluck at work (I doubled the recipe to feed more people) and there was not one scrap leftover so that leads me to believe everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. My recipe was adapted from this Creamy Broccoli Salad recipe which is very similar.

Ingredients:
1 head of fresh broccoli, cut into small pieces
1 small red onion
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
 1/2 cup sugar

What To Do:
Mix together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar in a bowl. In a separate larger bowl toss broccoli with cranberries, onions, bacon and sunflower kernels. Finally add the dressing over the broccoli mixture and toss well. Place in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Toss one final time before serving.

Enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Holiday Cheese Ball

I made this recipe for a friend's holiday party a few weekends ago and it got so many compliments. The good news is it's incredibly easy to make and only takes a few minutes to put together. I'll definitely be making this recipe for future gatherings and parties.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 cup sliced almonds (or more as needed)
Serve with crackers



What To Do:
 Soften cream cheese and mix together with mayonnaise. Add all remaining ingredients except the almonds in a large bowl and use a hand mixer on low speed to blend well. One mixed together well shape the cheese mixture into a ball. Layer of piece of plastic wrap on a plate and cover with sliced almonds. Roll the ball around until it become fully covered with almonds. Cover the ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Easy Pumpkin Soup

Soup season is upon us and one of my favorites since childhood has been pumpkin or butternut squash soup. I randomly bought a whole pumpkin so I was able to a make a few recipes with it including the Turkey and Pumpkin Chili recipe I posted a couple weeks ago. Pumpkin soup is really easy to whip together and only requires a few basic and inexpensive ingredients.

Ingredients

4 cups chicken stock
1/2 Medium white onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
4 cups fresh cubed pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp curry powder (optional)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Bacon crumbles, optional

What To Do:

Bring chicken stock, 1/2 inch cubed pumpkin, chopped onion, and garlic to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered or until pumpkin is cooked through fully. Use a blender or food processor to puree the soup carefully. Return puree soup to pot on medium heat and add whipping cream, black pepper, curry powder, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Garnish with bacon crumbles, peppercorns or fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Thanksgiving Potluck Dish Ideas

I don't usually like to post two food recipes in a week but with Thanksgiving next week, I definitely wanted to share these ideas sooner than later. I mentioned on Friday that I'm always looking for new recipes to contribute to the annual potluck at work as well as our Thanksgiving family dinner and sometimes even potlucks with friends around the Holidays. I shared this Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole recipe which is one of my favorite sides but I found a few other potluck ideas to share.

Tomato Basil Spinach Risotto

Crockpot Balsamic Pork Roast

Paleo Stuffing



Mexican Pasta Salad

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Hazelnuts

John Legends Macaroni and Cheese

 
Creamy Broccoli Salad

Strawberry Crumb Bars

Havarti & Ham Stuffed Chicken

 This recipe is very similar to Chicken Cordon Bleu but instead I made use of ingredients I had at home which happened to be black forest ham (lunch meat) and sliced Havarti cheese.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 slices of black forest ham
2 slices of havarti cheese
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
black pepper to taste
cooking spray

 

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and beat into 3/4" thickness.
3. Lay chicken flat (smooth side down) on one sheet of plastic wrap.
4. Add two slices of ham and one slice of cheese.
5. Roll chicken using the plastic wrap to keep together.
6. Unwrap the chicken and use toothpicks to keep chicken rolled. Sprinkle the seasonings and black pepper over chicken.
7. Bake on greased baking sheet for 35-40 minutes or until fully cooked.

Enjoy!

Fall Ground Turkey and Pumpkin Chili

Chili is not the prettiest food but it was very tasty and a great warm meal for Fall that also goes a long way. This recipe was adapted from Trader Joe's Turkey Chili with Pumpkin recipe. The original recipe calls for 2 cans of Pumpkin but I had some fresh pumpkin at home that I wanted to incorporate it into the recipe so I used only 1 can of pumpkin.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 White Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1.5 lbs Ground Turkey

1 can Diced & No Salt Added Tomatoes

 2 cans 100% pure Pumpkin or
4-5 cups cubed fresh Pumpkin

1 can Kidney Beans, drained

1/2 can Whole Kernel Corn, drained

1 Orange Bell Pepper, diced

Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

Optional Toppings:

Sour Cream

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

What To Do:

If you are using fresh pumpkin, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake the cubed pumpkin on a greased baking sheet for 25 minutes. Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute diced bell pepper and onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add in garlic and cook for only 1-2 minutes before adding the ground turkey. Cook turkey mixture until browned, approximately 8 minutes.

Transfer turkey mixture to a large pot and stir in pumpkin, kidney beans, corn, diced tomatoes along with black pepper and cayenne to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. I added 1/2 cup water since the consistency seemed thick. Cook for 20 minutes on low stirring occasionally.

Garnish with toppings of your choice. I used light sour cream.

Enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole

This is one of the more complicated recipes I've made recently only because it requires several different moving parts and pans to cook the chicken, broccoli and rice separately before assembling the casserole but it's worth the few extra dishes. Chicken & Broccoli Rice casserole it a great recipe for the Fall and can feed 8 to 10 people.



Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 head of broccoli
1.5 cups cooked rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups shredded cheese
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste

What To Do:
1. Boil chicken breasts with poultry seasoning for 15 minutes or until cooked fully. Once chicken has cooled, cut into small bite-size pieces.
2. Cook rice according to directions on the package. I used instant brown rice to speed up the process a bit.
3. Cut broccoli florets off the stem and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour 1/2 cup water evenly over the broccoli and cook in microwave for 4 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9x13 backing dish with nonstick spray.

5.  In a medium skillet, melt butter and add chopped onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add cream of chicken soup and whisk in the milk, flour, and eggs. Finally add 3/4 cup of shredded cheese along with salt and pepper and whisk together until smooth. Cook for another 5 minutes or until thickened.
6. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked chicken, rice, broccoli and soup mixture and mix well with a spoon.
7. Pour mixture into baking dish, top with remainder of shredded cheese and then sprinkle panko breadcrumbs over cheese.
 8. Bake on 350 for 35 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin.

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sliders

I finally got around to making this Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders recently for Sunday dinner. I've mentioned them before in this post about healthier game day recipes. This recipe also goes a long way making about 20 sliders (we had tons of leftovers for lunch during the week) so it's also perfect to make for football parties or any party/event. I also used pre-made coleslaw as a topping. Mine look a little sloppy but nevertheless the recipe was a winner in my books!

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (12 oz.) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
1/2 (1 oz.) package dry ranch salad dressing mix

2 tbsp. butter
2 packs of Hawaiian sweet rolls

 Cooking spray

What To Do:

Spray crockpot with cooking spray and place chicken breasts in crockpot. Sprinkle ranch dressing evenly over chicken along with 3/4 of the bottle of wing sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Once the chicken has cooked (drain any excessive liquid but keep some) use two forks to shred the chicken. Add butter and the remainder of the wing sauce to shredded chicken and mix well.

Enjoy!