Brunch Suggestions Needed

I like cheese blintz's for brunch. You can buy them frozen and heat them up. I think most people get lost in the whole breakfast part, and forget you need to have a little lunch. Salmon and cream cheese appetizers, quiche with spinach and cheese, fresh fruit or fruit salad, sparkling lemonades/punch, crisps or fritters, and mmmm now I am hungry! Have fun planning! =)

Several months ago I hosted a brunch baby shower for both men and women. Here is pretty much what my menu consisted of:
Assortment of bagels, croissants, muffins, cream cheeses, peanut butter, jellies. Fresh fruit tray: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apple slices (soaked in pineapple juice so they don't turn brown), kiwi, grapes, orange slices.
I made a yogurt bar...4 different flavors of yogurt: strawberry banana, plain, vanilla & blueberry, granola, sliced almonds. They used the fruit from the fruit tray as well. I had parfait glasses for them to use to make their yogurt sundaes.
Sausage links and bacon (I also did mine in the oven since it would have taken forever to cook enough in a skillet)
Tuna salad & chicken salad: they could eat this plain, on bagel or croissant
Chips
Drinks: coffee, pitcher of water w/sliced lemon, lime, orange floating in it, pitcher of tea w/sliced lemon, lime, orange floating in it).
Berry lemonade: yummy!! frozen container of minute maid lemonade, put in a blender along with a small bag of frozen assorted berries (mine had strawberries, raspberries & blueberries) blend~ then add that mixture to the appropriate amount of water (as instructed on the lemonade can) + just a little more water. Put in a pitcher in the fridge and serve when ready.
Pineapple juice, orange juice, cranberry juice...and I had a chilled bottle of sparkling wine (left over from New Year's so why not use it up) for those that wanted to add a little zing to their juice.
I didn't have tons of every item, but it looked like alot because I had so many different options. I always pick foods my family likes so if there are leftovers then no waste, we will eat them.

seasonal fruit
bagels with flavored cream cheeses
quiche or some sort of egg dish
waffles, if you have a wafflemaker or can borrow/rent one or two you could make this a DIY station
bacon, you can make large amounts in your oven and it's amazing this way
coffee, juice, milk, tea

- 2nd the DIY waffle station.
- Quiche or Frittata instead of eggs
- Scones or Biscuits ... sided with jam & gravy
- Fresh fruit
- Bagels & Cream Cheese
- Baked Bacon (My new favorite trick!!! You put a cookie cooling rack in your broiler pan base, and bake at 400 until done the way you like. Makes a TON of bacon quickly, without the mess and smell of frying it)
- Overnight French Toast (as in cooked the night before and reheated in the morning in the oven)
- Yogurt Parfeits

In addition to Sarah's list

Egg casserole (made ahead and cooked the morning of)
Overnight french toast
pigs-n-a-blanket (very easy)
muffins - store bought or homemade (you can make ahead and freeze, thaw overnight)
croissants (can serve with butter and fruit spreads or chicken salad and tuna salad for heartier appetites)
biscuits (for heartier appetites serve with thick cut ham) - the frozen ones are awesome!
oj, lemonade - store bought with slices of real lemons added (I like the Simply Lemonade), and / or other fruit juices,coffee with different flavor creamers

You don't need a huge assortment of food. Think about your guests and their appetites. Choose a few different type food items to serve, choose some premade and some homemade. I focus on 2-3 items I will make that morning and 2-3 I can do ahead of time. I might purchase 1-2 storebought items (all these numbers depend on the # of guests and in particular # of women vs. # of men). The more men, the heartier the food needs to be. For a bridal/baby shower, the fair can be lighter (egg casserole, muffins, fruit, croissant sandwiches). For a co-ed brunch, food will need to be heartier (egg casseroles, waffles, bagels, fruit, ham or bacon, rolls/biscuits). Whatever the menu, try to do as much ahead of time so you can enjoy the brunch, too!

I second the DIY waffle station. I set up just the right amount of liquid waffle mix into 9 ounce plastic cups, set them in a 9x13 pan filled with ice and let everyone make their own (we have a Waring Pro Belgium waffle maker). I also scramble lots of eggs and place them in a warming dish. Bacon and sausage hold well also in the same type of dish. Do not let them sit too long due to bacteria. We also serve sweet rolls, bagles and cream cheese with fruit spreads. Also, google breakfast casseroles. I had one at my sisters that was so good. She said she made it the night before and kept it in the fridge and popped it in the oven in the am. Don't forget a selection of fresh fruit with yogurt and granola to top it. Hard to resist that!

Here is a yummy and easy recipe from Cooks.com. I love these!

CREAM CHEESE SAUSAGE ROLL

1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

Brown sausage like hamburger meat (drain).
While preparing sausage, soften cream cheese in microwave for 15 seconds.
Unpack the rolls.
Use roll as the bottom crust.
Mix sausage and cream cheese together. Spread mixture onto a bottom crust.
Use the second can of rolls to make a top layer crust by pinching sides together all the way around like a calzone ring.
Bake at 325°F until golden brown. Cut into squarely shaped pieces.
Serve hot or cold.
Submitted by: stacey smith

Muffins, fruit with dip (mix either cool whip and cream cheese together or marshmallow creme and cream cheese together), breakfast casserole (check your cook books, find one made with eggs, sausage, cheese, etc), breakfast burritos (you can cook the eggs, sausage, etc, ahead of time and just lay out the cheese, eggs, sausage, onions, bell peppers, and flour tortillas.) Don't forget the picante sauce! Get creative, it doesn't have to be hard or expensive. Good luck!

Here's a cheap and easy brunch nibble...

Cucumber ham rollups!!!

1 large cucumber
12-16 slices of deli or packaged ham (thin, rectangular)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
2 tsp. dill weed

Peel cucumber, cut in quarters lengthwise. Cut each quarter in half lengthwise, and then across. You should end up with 16 very slim cucumber spears.
Mix together mayo, mustard, and dill weed.
On a slice of ham, spread a thin layer of mayo mixture, place a cucumber spear across it, and roll it up. Trim cucumber from the ends so they're nice and neat, then cut each roll-up into thirds. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve! These look really nice on a platter with veggies and cheeses, and they make nice little bite-sized hors d'ouvres!