2 Make-Ahead Holiday Brunch Recipes!

It seems mildly surreal that Christmas is in THREE days, friends.

Truth be told, I’m extremely behind on my Holiday Activities list, but I plan to remedy that over the next few days. The time crunch means that I will now have to do many of the activities simultaneously, but that’s okay. I enjoy multi-tasking.

Wrapping presents while watching Christmas Vacation, singing carols, and opening 12+ days on an advent calendar will be super fun.

Today though, I thought we’d cover two of my favorite recipes for a stress-free holiday brunch!

These two recipes are relatively low-maintenance and can be prepped the night before, so all you have to do in the AM is turn on your oven. You can savor watching the kiddos open their presents, stay in your pajamas until noon (at the very least), and enjoy more of the magic that is Christmas morning.

Wishing you all a peaceful and joyous holiday season!

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Bread

This easy banana bread practically screams, “COZY.” I love the idea of serving this with an array of spreads and toppings (cream cheese! almond butter! honey!) as part of a larger brunch feast with fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, etc..

3 medium bananas, over ripe

2 eggs

2 cups rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

optional add-ins:

1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup chopped dates or raisins

Preheat oven to 350° F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Add all of the ingredients, in the order above, to your food processor and blend until smooth (this will take 4-5 minutes). Mixture will be liquidy and that’s okay. Pour the batter into your pan and bake for around 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out mostly clean.  Allow bread to cool in the pan at least 20 minutes prior to transferring to cooling rack.  And then allow to cool another 20 minutes prior to slicing. You can make this a day or two ahead of time and store in an airtight container on the counter or prep the batter the night before, store in the fridge and bake in the morning.

PLEASE NOTE:  This is not a traditional sweet banana bread.  There is minimal sweetener used here.  This is a healthy breakfast or snack:) Serves 6

Festive Holiday Frittata

While I highly recommend this ingredient combo, the best part about a frittata is that you can use anything you happen to have in your fridge for the filling. Feel free to experiment with different types of meat, hard and soft cheeses, and any vegetables that strike your fancy. Frittatas are one of the simplest meals ever, yet they always manage to taste deliciously decadent.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red pepper, diced

4-5 green onions thinly sliced

1 5-ounce bag/box fresh baby spinach 

12 pasture raised eggs

¼ cup cream, or milk, dairy or nondairy, your choice

½ teaspoon of salt

fresh ground black pepper

4-ounces soft goat cheese or feta cheese

Heat olive oil in an oven-safe skillet (like cast-iron) over medium heat. Add red pepper and saute 2-3 minutes. Add green onions and spinach. Saute until spinach wilts. Remove vegetables from pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl lightly beat together eggs, cream or milk, salt, and pepper.

Pre-heat broiler.

Return skillet to the stove-top with heat reduced to medium-low. I don’t add any oil at this point, but my cast iron pan is very well seasoned. You may want to add a little oil or spray with cooking spray depending on your pan.

Pour in eggs. Allow eggs to cook and start to just set on the bottom of the pan. Once the bottom has firmed up slightly, add the spinach mixture, spreading evenly over the eggs. Dot the top of the frittata with the goat cheese. Continue to cook on stove-top until the top starts to set. You can even cover the skillet with a lid so that the eggs will begin to firm up. It will begin to puff slightly but you will still see a bit of liquid on the top. (which is okay, this will cook under the broiler in the next step.) Total time on the stove-top, on medium-low heat is about 8-10 minutes.

Once the eggs are mostly set, but still liquid on top, place the skillet directly under the broiler. Watch carefully, you want the top to brown slightly and cheese to bubble a bit, this will only take a couple of minutes. Serve hot or room temperature. This can be made the night before and placed in the fridge. Take out of fridge and either warm in the oven or bring to room temperature.

Serves 6

Notes:

Frittata’s are good straight out of the oven or room temperature, which makes them great for entertaining. This is an easy brunch recipe when you are serving a few guests You can make this a bit ahead and let if sit while you get some other things done a the last minute when you are serving a crowd.

To prevent sticking, let the frittata cool for a while before you try to remove it from the pan. As your frittata cools, it will pull off the sides of the skillet and make removal easier.

Because of the richness of this particular frittata I prefer to serve it with a light, green, salad.