Spring Cleaning Brunch

Spring Cleaning Gift Bags

I love Spring but the allergens have me moving a little slower than usual. I wanted to share this last week because we had so much fun. This event is our monthly 1st Saturday Brunch which was hosted, for the first time, by one of my cousins. She had a great idea for a Spring Cleaning Theme.

We each were required to bring something nice that we no longer wanted but didn’t want to throw away. Instead we packaged the item in a gift bag and, after brunch, we played a game similar to dirty Santa.

On the menu this time were some very tasty bites including:

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

Chicken Salad on Cocktail Croissants

Chicken Salad on Cocktail Croissants

Broccoli Quiche

Broccoli & Cheese Quiche

French Toast Bake

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

Peel and Eat Shrimp

Peel and Eat Shrimp

Ham and Pineapple Slices

Ham and Pineapple Slices

Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

Sherbert Punch

To help wash it all down, cousin served a very refreshing and delicious Sherbert Punch. I’ve never heard of or tried this before. It contained the flavors of lime, raspberry and lemonade.

Cake

Cake

For dessert there was Better Than S-E-X Cake. Ok, it was really, really, really good, but…..

Cousin did a great job with planning our brunch this month. As for the Spring Cleaning game….this is the item I won. So awesome!

Casserole Dish

1st Saturdays: A Seafood Brunch

Ginger Ale & Sherbert Punch

Weekends and Seafood are two of my favorite things.  This past weekend my family and I were treated to a seafood feast hosted this month by one of my sisters.  Miss A and I took more pictures this time….

Crab Rangoons

These are crab rangoons and they’re ready for the oven.

Crab Rangoons

Okay so our hostess made more than a few, but we didn’t mind at all.

Crab Rangoons

They were nice and toasty and really good.

Calypso Shrimp Pasta

Our hostess also made a Shrimp Calypso Pasta dish.

Crab Legs

And she steamed a few crab legs.

Broccoli Tuna Casserole Ingredients

Then our hostess threw together a Broccoli Tuna Casserole,

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

You should have seen my mom crushing the crackers for the topping.  She really had fun with it!

making biscuits

Miss A and my “baby” sister are measuring ingredients for the Cheese Garlic Biscuits.  My little sister is wearing white…can you see her baby bump? {giggles}  I’m one of the organizers of her pending baby shower.  I can hardly wait to share the details with you.

making biscuits

Miss A is such an awesome helper in the kitchen.  She’s going to be a great cook. 

Biscuits ready for the oven

The biscuits are ready for their turn in the oven.

Cheese Garlic Biscuits

These little gems were soooo good. 

Cole slaw sauce

In that bowl lies my cole slaw sauce.  

I live an hour from my sister, the hostess’ home.  I was almost two thirds of the way from my home when I realized that I left the two bags of shredded cabbage I needed in the fridge.  Ugh.  I was hoping to avoid another trip to the grocery store.

Cole Slaw

But that’s okay.  I did stop to buy more and I made the cole slaw which we used to top our Fish Tacos with.  I’ve decided that the cabbage shreds I left at home will be used for making spring rolls.

Tortilla Shells

These are the nice and warm tortilla shells we filled.

Fish taco fillings

The Fish Taco fillings also included baha sauce, pico de gallo, taco sauce, sauteed cod fillets, cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Pistachio Cream Pie

For dessert, my sister wearing the baby bump and Miss A made a really delicious Pistachio Cream Pie.  She uses almond slivers instead of pistachio nuts on the outside and creamy pistachio pudding on the inside.  It’s actually a really good combination.

Pistachio Cream Pie

Yum…

Lemon Cookies

Finally, my mom shared her lemon cookies with us.  These weren’t home baked, but they were delicious.

Oh…that green stuff at the very top was a Ginger Ale and Sherbert Punch.  Miss A and I thought the picture of the foamy top was kinda cool.

After brunch, we received a lesson in crocheting by my “baby” sister.  It’s almost Spring, but I’m making a scarf.

Thank You to our hostess for organizing such a beautiful day!!

Foodie Friday

I’m participating in the Foodie Friday potluck party hosted weekly at Designs by Gollum. Click the button and join the fun!

1st Saturdays

Brunch Buffet

On the first Saturday of each month, some of the ladies in my family gather together to share brunch and some great conversations.  At each gathering we typically decide who will host the next event and the hostess chooses a theme around which to plan the meal.

This year we skipped our brunch in January and had almost bypassed February until I received a call from one of my aunts Friday night.  She had been contacted by one of her nieces.  They wanted to know where we were meeting this month.  I wasn’t sure what to do.

Since no brunch menu had been prepared and no location had been previously chosen, we decided to “brown bag” it and my little sister agreed to host.  It turned out perfectly.  We packed our own lunches and, instinctively, we each packed a little more to share. 

The brown bag offerings were as diverse as the topics that hovered over the table. 

Chicken Salad Croissants

Jello

Jello

Potato Salad

After it was all said and done, we worked out the calendar for the rest of the year and now have something fabulous to look forward to every 1st Saturday.   This is one of the best times I experience each month.  As I share the details of future events, I hope it will inspire other women to carve out similar moments in their lives to do the same. 

Thanks for stopping by!