What do you get when you combine hash browns, scrambled eggs with veggies, shredded cheese and silicone baking cups?  A really yummy colorful brunch treat.

These silicone baking cups are wonderful.  Nothing sticks to them.  So easy to use and clean up, plus they come in such fun colors. (See Amazon link in side column.)

1.  Line each silicone cup with frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, pressing onto bottoms and up the sides.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until light golden brown.  (Begin checking at 10 minutes if using thawed hash browns.)    

2.  Whisk together eggs, milk and salt.  For 24 silicone cups, I used 18 eggs, one-half cup of milk, and a pinch of salt.

3.   Sauté your vegetables in a little butter and/or olive oil.  I used spinach and mushrooms, but just chop up whatever vegetables you have on hand and toss them in.

4.  When vegetables are nearly done (tender and slightly browned), pour in egg mixture, cooking and stirring until eggs are thickened and almost dry.

5.  Spoon eggs and veggies into the hash brown cups and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

6.  Bake three to five minutes until cheese is melted.

Printer-friendly recipe:  Scrambled Eggs in Hash Brown Cups

Here’s a truly unique and delicious pizza, and it’s so quick and simple to make.  It was featured in Dinner at Tiffini’s and People magazine.

Ingredients:

8 oz refrigerated pizza dough, halved
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups arugula
1 cup red grapes, sliced in half
1/4 cup pine nuts
Zest of one lemon

1.  Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and preheat oven to 400.

2.  Flatten and stretch each half of dough into 12″ oblong or rectangle. Lay one dough into bottom of hot grill pan and cook until it stiffens, 1 to 2 minutes, flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more.  Repeat with remaining dough.

3.  Transfer crusts to a baking sheet and spread ricotta on top.  Bake until ricotta melts slightly, about 6 minutes.

4.  Remove from oven and top with arugula, grapes, pine nuts and lemon zest.   Cut into squares and serve warm.

Confession: The first time I made this, I didn’t read the directions carefully and put the toppings on before baking the crust instead of after. The second batch was made following the instructions. Turns out I liked it better with the toppings cooked, especially the pine nuts, but it is good either way.

Print-friendly recipe:  Pizza with Arugula, Ricotta and Red Grapes

Enjoy this and many more easy brunch recipes to come.

This is an amazing recipe for baked oatmeal.  Not only is it easy and delicious, but it is incredibly healthy (just don’t tell your family that part) with quinoa, steel cut oats, bananas, blueberries, raspberries and even protein powder.

Of course, we think of oatmeal as a breakfast food, but this recipe is so yummy you can top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a very tasty dessert.  For my brunch I served it with Slow Cooker Applesauce, Greek yogurt, nuts and pomegranate seeds.

There are twelve ingredients, but please don’t let that dissuade you.  It’s still quite simple to prepare.  And this recipe makes 18 servings (or cut in half and use a smaller baking dish).

1.  Rinse the quinoa and steel cut oats (1 cup each) until the water runs clear.  Drain well.

TIP:  Use the right tool for the job.  I grabbed my go-to colander (the green one) but the holes were too big and the first splash of water sent quinoa and oats racing down the drain.

2.  Prepare the fruit:  3 or 4 bananas, sliced; 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen); and 1 cup raspberries (frozen might be fine, but I prefer fresh ones because they are plumper and hold their shape better.)

3.  Layer half the fruit in a large baking dish prepared with cooking spray.

4. Cover with the quinoa and oats.

5.  Layer the remaining fruit.

6.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 4 cups of your favorite milk (dairy, almond, soy, etc.), 4 eggs, 2 scoops of your favorite protein powder, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a dash of salt.

7.   Pour the liquid over the fruit and grain.
TIP:  To prevent the fruit from floating or migrating unevenly, pour the liquid very slowly from one corner of the dish.
 

8.  Sprinkle half a cup of coconut flakes over the top.

TIP:  If you like, toast the coconut first in a 375 degree oven,
but watch it very carefully.  The first minute looks like no change is happening and suddenly it turns brown very quickly.

9.  Bake at 375 degrees until nicely browned and dry on top, about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.

10.  Let sit for one hour before serving — that’s the only hard part because it smells sooooo good!

Enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  While quinoa is very healthy for us, many people have not embraced the texture.  If you and your family or guests are not quinoa fans, you may be happier preparing this recipe with just oatmeal and no quinoa.

Enjoy this along with many of the easy brunch recipes to come.

Print recipe:  Baked Oatmeal Recipe