We’ve said it before – brunch is a THING in Dallas. Yeah, I know, everyone loves a good breakfast-lunch hybrid. But Dallasites are oddly obsessed with this social meal. It sort of becomes what our weekends revolve around. Deciding which place has the best eggs benedict, patio or bottomless mimosas is a true hobby of ours. Given our brunch addiction, Kelsie and I have wanted to throw a brunch party for a long time now and finally pulled one together for a fun Saturday morning at home.
By the way, when you brunch at home, the mimosas are automatically bottomless. Major key.This party came together a little last minute. Meaning we decided the week of that we would have a casual group of 20 people over to our leeetle apartment. Ambitious. So, we relied heavily on simple recipes that could be prepped ahead and would be great for a crowd. Not to mention – recipes that wouldn’t break the bank. I have to say, mission. accomplished.
Leading up to the weekend, we started to plan and prep to avoid a total cluster on Saturday. First things first – we should probably finish decorating the apartment that we’ve lived in for five months….no judgments please.
Once the pictures were hung we could focus on the food. We scoured Pinterest and picked out brunch fare that could easily be served to a large group. We went with the menu listed below, but pinned lots more options here!
- Blueberry Muffin Cake
- Baked Doughnuts (we used the vanilla & chocolate glazes)
- Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
- Fruit Salad (use your favorite fruits, or whatever looks good at the store)
- Pigs in a blanket
All said and done, the recipes above cost us a total of about $50! 50 bucks to feed a solid group of people (and still have food left over), talk about ballin’ on a budget.
Naturally, the simplest of dishes was the crowd favorite. Pigs in a blanket never fail.
Also, our lovely friend brought all the makings for a mimosa bar (three juices + fruit), so there was ZERO shortage of bubbly.
If you’re anything like us, the weekdays fill up quickly, so planning ahead is crucial. Here’s a little timeline of how we prepped for the brunch party so we could enjoy time with our guests and the champs come Saturday morning.
Wednesday: Choose your menu and create a detailed grocery list
Thursday: Run to the grocery store and stock up. To ensure ripe perfection, I’d suggest waiting until the day before or morning of to purchase the fruit.
Friday: Bake the baked goodies and store appropriately in order to frost and glaze them the next morning. Cook the breakfast sausage and chop the necessary ingredients for the casserole, so it’s easy to toss into the slow cooker the morning of. Then, everyone’s favorite part of prepping for guests: clean!
Saturday morning: Layer the ingredients in the crock-pot, set it and forget it. The fruit salad and pigs in a blanket are equally awesome because they’re so darn easy and simply a matter of assembly. While the pigs in a blanket are cooking, you can glaze the cake and donuts and cover them until they’re ready to serve. Last step – pop bottles and dig in!
What are some of your favorite homemade brunch recipes?
xo- Lexi
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