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Venison Everyday Cookbook

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16 Brunch Ideas | Recipes To Elevate Your Weekend Gathering

16 Go-To Brunch Ideas that are sure to elevate your weekend gathering. I am sharing the perfect mix of sweet and savory dishes that are sure to be a hit no matter the occasion.

A fork taking a bite of venison breakfast casserole with melted cheese pulling


Brunch holds a special place in my heart for its unique blend of flavors, relaxed atmosphere, and the delightful merging of breakfast and lunch favorites. It’s not just a meal; it’s an experience that allows for leisurely mornings and quality time spent with loved ones. The beauty of brunch lies in its versatility, offering a wide array of dishes from sweet to savory, making it suitable for any palate or dietary preference. Whether it’s a lazy Sunday affair or a celebratory gathering, brunch has a way of bringing people together over delicious food and good conversation.

Brunch is that glorious meal that’s not quite breakfast, not quite lunch, but a delightful combination of both! It’s like the best of both worlds on a plate. Typically, brunch is enjoyed late morning to early afternoon, usually falling between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. It’s a perfect excuse to indulge in a leisurely meal, featuring a mix of breakfast and lunch dishes. From fluffy pancakes, french toast, or waffles (smothered in maple syrup), eggs Benedict, biscuits & gravy, and cinnamon rolls, to savory sandwiches and fresh salads (like my quinoa tabbouleh salad with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers), delicious sides of crispy bacon and savory sausage, brunch offers a wide range of options to satisfy your cravings and please your guests. Plus, let’s not forget about mimosas and Bloody Marys, the classic brunch beverages that add a touch of sparkle to any mid-morning feast. So, whether you’re catching up with friends, celebrating a special occasion, or simply treating yourself to a delicious spread, brunch is always a fantastic choice!

VERSATILITY OF BRUNCH RECIPES

Brunch is a versatile and creative meal, offering a wide range of delicious options to satisfy both breakfast and lunch cravings. Here are some popular types of brunch foods that you might find on a brunch menu:

  1. Eggs Benedict: A classic brunch dish featuring poached eggs, Canadian bacon, and hollandaise sauce served on an English muffin.
  2. Pancakes and Waffles: Fluffy pancakes or crispy waffles served with a variety of toppings such as maple syrup, fresh fruits, whipped cream, or chocolate chips.
  3. Avocado Toast: A trendy brunch choice featuring mashed avocado spread on toasted bread, often topped with ingredients like poached eggs, cherry tomatoes, or feta cheese.
  4. Breakfast Burritos: Flour tortillas filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, breakfast meats like bacon or sausage, and optionally topped with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.
  5. Quiche: A savory pastry filled with a mixture of eggs, cheese, vegetables, and meats like ham or bacon, baked until golden and fluffy.
  6. Fruit Parfaits: Layers of yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit such as berries, bananas, or mangoes, creating a light and refreshing brunch option.
  7. Smoked Salmon Bagels: Toasted bagels topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon slices, red onions, capers, and fresh dill, offering a flavorful and satisfying dish.
  8. Chicken and Waffles: A savory-sweet combination featuring crispy fried chicken served with fluffy waffles and drizzled with maple syrup or honey butter.
  9. French Toast: Thick slices of bread soaked in a mixture of eggs, milk, and spices, then fried until golden and served with toppings like powdered sugar, berries, or whipped cream.
  10. Brunch Cocktails: Popular brunch beverages include mimosas (champagne and orange juice), Bloody Marys (vodka and tomato juice with spices), bellinis (prosecco and peach puree), and Irish coffee (coffee with Irish whiskey and cream).

These are just a few examples of the many delicious brunch foods you can enjoy, making brunch a fun and versatile mealtime for everyone!

READY, SET, LET’S BRUNCH!

grilled chicken and strawberry salad in a bowl with a fork and a pink napkin

Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad

This summery chicken and strawberry salad is perfect with juicy grilled chicken, ripe strawberries, spinach, cucumber, feta and an easy, homemade dressing. 

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

This twist on the authentic, herby salad uses another super grain in place of bulgar. Quinoa Tabbsouleh is light, healthy and refreshing.

bowl of quinoa, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, and fresh herbs for the quinoa tabbouleh salad
Venison Breakfast Sausage patties on white plate with eggs

Venison Breakfast Sausage

What is the best venison to pork ratio for sausage? Learn that and delicious flavoring ideas in this Venison Breakfast Sausage recipe.

Venison Sausage Breakfast Casserole

This simple venison sausage breakfast casserole recipe combines eggs, venison sausage, onions, peppers, cheese and is topped with crispy tater tots. SO good!

A fork taking a bite of venison breakfast casserole with melted cheese pulling

Banana Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Banana Blueberry Baked Breakfast Oatmeal is the most deliciously comforting gluten-free breakfast with bananas and blueberries baked into nourishing, filling and wholesome oats. Perfect for meal prep or a crowd!

Healthier Greek Yogurt Blueberry Muffins

These Healthier Greek Yogurt Blueberry Muffins have a fluffy, tender crumb, are lower in sugar, and are crazy moist. Bonus- they freeze well!

Greek yogurt blueberry muffins on a white counter with fresh blueberries
blackberry coffee cake with a glaze on a white plate

Blackberry Coffee Cake With Streusel Topping

This blackberry coffee cake is studded with juicy blackberries and topped with a buttery, cinnamon kissed crumble. A true family favorite.

5 Ingredient Chorizo Salsa Breakfast Bake

We’re just combining eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, chorizo, salsa, cheese, mixing and baking until golden brown for this chorizo and salsa-infused masterpiece.

eggs Benedict casserole on a blue plate with fruit

Easy Eggs Benedict Casserole

Everything you love about Eggs Benedict without the hassle of poaching eggs and assembling. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the easiest breakfast ever.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This easy, fresh strawberry pie recipe is loaded with fresh berries and uses just one crust. It’s baked to perfection with a thick layer of the berry filling. 

fresh strawberry pie with whipped cream on top
Italian Lemon Cheesecake slide on white plates

Italian Lemon Cheesecake

This Italian Lemon Cheesecake is made light and fluffy with the addition of ricotta cheese. It’s got plenty of fresh lemon flavor!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Perfect, classic cheesecake gets studded with chocolate chips and baked in bar form for easy serving and eating with these Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars.

a stack of chocolate chip cheesecake bars
key lime pie bars stacked with fresh whipped cream and a lime

Key Lime Pie Bars

These key lime pie bars are the best key lime pie recipe baked into bar form and topped with plenty of fresh whipped cream. Don’t forget the graham cracker crust!

Easy Strawberry Chia Jam

Got a bunch of strawberries lying around ripe for the picking?! Look no further, this Easy Strawberry Chia Jam is just the thing to do with you abundance of berries!

grapefruit cocktail with a grapefruit slice, a shaker cap, herbs on a white background

Grapefruit Thyme Rosemary Fizz Cocktail

You’ll Love This Light And Fresh Grapefruit Cocktail That’s Infused With Rosemary And Thyme And Topped With Soda Water Or Seltzer. Try It With Vodka Or Tequila.

Rosé Spritzer Cocktail | With Elderflower & Raspberries

This super simple Rosé Spritzer is the perfect refreshing wine cocktail to sip on when you want something that’s both light and flavorful.

wine glass filled with rose spritzer
an orange crush in a clear tall glass

The Best Orange Crush Recipe

This is the best Orange Crush Recipe because it uses fresh orange juice, orange-flavored vodka, triple sec, and orange-flavored sparkling water. It’s not too sweet and it’s really fresh.

Easy Lavender Lemon Champagne Fizz Cocktails

This cocktail is crazy beautiful (I mean would ya look at that color). It only has 5 ingredients and it’s seriously perfect for any occasion.

Easy Eggs Benedict Casserole

Everything you love about Eggs Benedict without the hassle of poaching eggs and assembling. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the easiest breakfast ever.

eggs Benedict casserole on a blue plate with fruit and a glass of orange juice

This post is sponsored by ALDI USA. All thoughts and opinions remain my own and I am proud to partner with brands I love. Thanks for supporting the growth of Miss AK!

I. Love. Eggs. Benedict. But, I honestly never think to make it at home. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the best of both worlds, without all of the complicated assembling and egg poaching.

Breakfast is such an important meal and I used to really struggle getting inspired to make some really delicious and filling meals that would help kickstart my day. I’ve started meal prepping the Venison Breakfast Sausage. It goes perfectly in these Breakfast Sandwiches or these Venison Breakfast Bowls (perfect for those non-egg eaters). We also love meal prepping this Venison Sausage Breakfast Casserole or some overnight oats to have on hand and Madi loves these Carrot Cake Breakfasts Cookies. But if I had to choose, eggs benedict casserole would be one of my favorites to whip up!

I still remember the first time I had Eggs Benedict. It was springtime, around Easter, and I was probably around 10. I was walking around a glorious brunch buffet with everything from danishes to prime rib to made-to-order omelets. I passed by this curious station with buttered English muffins (hello, lover), poached eggs, ham slices, and a thick, yellow, creamy sauce.

I’ve always been an overly adventurous eater, so I stuck out my plate and the chef assembled a neat little stack of muffin, ham, egg, and sauce. I went to my seat and cut in. Gooey egg yolk and hollandaise ran all over the plate, which I sopped up with the English muffin and ham. DELICIOUS! I was hooked.

However, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve tried to make Eggs Benedict at home. Can I tell you why…I sort of hate poaching eggs. And I feel like making it for more than one person turns into a big hassle. But, I just can’t get those flavors out of my head!

THAT’S WHEN I TURN TO MY FAVORITE HACK – EGGS BENEDICT CASSEROLE!

eggs benedict casserole fresh out of the oven

These days, I’m all about making life simpler.

Every Monday, I place an online, Instacart order from ALDI USA I log on and order my favorite things/staples – organic whole milk, organic yogurt, organic produce (the hubs loves blackberries), organic cheese puffs (SO GOOD), organic eggs, coffee, and organic, free-range chicken. They literally have everything I need!

I also go through my weekly schedule and plan out any meals we’re having at home. On holidays and special weeks, I always add a few extra things to make brunch at home. It’s something special we like to do in our home whenever we can. With all of the extra time spent at home lately (a blessing in disguise if you ask me) we have been brunching it up every week, haha!  ALDI USA always has everything I need, and when I shop there, I save so much money without giving up on quality, organic ingredients.

This recipe is perfect for serving for easter brunch, Mother’s Day, and even Christmas morning.

INGREDIENTS AND KITCHEN TOOLS

ingredients for eggs benedict casserole

For the egg bake:

  • Large eggs
  • Milk (you can use 2% or skim, but I prefer whole)
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • Ham
  • Baby Spinach
  • English Muffins 

For the blender hollandaise sauce: 

  • Large eggs  
  • Lemon juice 
  • Paprika (or smoked paprika)
  • Salted Butter
  • Sea salt

Kitchen Tools:

  • Baking Dish
  • Cutting Board & knife
  • Blender

STEP BY STEP

ham, spinach, english muffins and eggs in a bowl
easy blender hollandaise sauce
eggs benedict casserole fresh out of the oven

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×11 casserole dish. 

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined. 

Step 3: Then, fold in the ham, spinach and English muffins into the egg mixture. 

Step 4: Pour the egg bake mixture into the casserole dish and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the eggs are totally set and the edges of the casserole are golden brown. 

Step 5: Let this cool slightly while you make the hollandaise. 

Step 6: In a blender, add the egg yolks, fresh lemon juice and paprika. 

Step 7: Turn the blender on and SLOWLY stream in the melted butter until incorporated. You’ll be able to hear the mixture thicken. Taste to see the seasoning level of the hollandaise and add a bit more salt if needed. I find I don’t need to with the salted butter. 

Step 8: Slice and serve the eggs Benedict bake with a drizzle of hollandaise. I love this with a side of fresh fruit and orange juice!

Cooking Tip

This recipe below uses 2 cups of diced ham – I share exactly the type I used. But, you can use leftover ham, lunchmeat, or ham steak.

HOW TO SERVE

Slice and serve the eggs Benedict bake with a drizzle of hollandaise. I love this with a side of fresh fruit and orange juice!

blender sauce being poured over an egg bake

STORING AND REHEATING

If you happen to have leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. When ready to reheat, place in a toaster oven or oven until warmed through. Microwaving will cause it to become soggy.

eggs Benedict casserole on a blue plate with fruit

OTHER BREAKFAST RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

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eggs Benedict casserole on a blue plate with fruit

Easy Eggs Benedict Casserole

Everything you love about Eggs Benedict without the hassle of poaching eggs and assembling. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the easiest breakfast ever.

  • Author: Miss AK
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
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Scale

Ingredients

For the egg bake:

  • 10 Simply Nature Cage Free Organic Eggs
  • 1 cup Friendly Farms Organic Whole Milk (you can use 2% or skim, but I prefer whole)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • about heaping 2 cups diced Appleton Farms Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
  • about 2 heaping cups roughly chopped Simply Nature Organic Baby Spinach
  • 2 L’oven Fresh Plain English Muffins, diced 

For the blender hollandaise sauce: 

  • 4 Simply Nature Cage Free Organic Eggs  
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 
  • 1 pinch paprika (or smoked paprika)
  • 1/2 cup melted Simply Nature Organic Salted Butter
  • salt, to taste, if needed

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×11 inch casserole dish. 
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined. 
  3. Then, fold in the ham, spinach and English muffins. 
  4. Pour the egg bake mixture into the casserole dish and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the eggs are totally set and the edges of the casserole are golden brown. 
  5. Let this cool slightly while you make the hollandaise. 
  6. In a blender, add the egg yolks, lemon juice and paprika. 
  7. Turn the blender on and SLOWLY stream in the melted butter until incorporated. You’ll be able to hear the mixture thicken. Taste to see the seasoning level of the hollandaise and add a bit more salt if needed. I find I don’t need to with the salted butter. 
  8. Slice and serve the eggs Benedict bake with a drizzle of hollandaise. I love this with a side of fresh fruit and orange juice!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 315
  • Sugar: 3 g
  • Sodium: 833 mg
  • Fat: 22 g
  • Saturated Fat: 11 g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 10 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 19 g
  • Cholesterol: 392 mg

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