Simple Recipes for a Mother's Day Brunch

Mother's Day is perhaps the one holiday involving a woman that men can remember. They may occasionally forget their significant other's birthday, anniversary, and possibly Valentine's Day. But a man who forgets Mother's Day usually only forgets it once because someone--most likely his mother--will remind him of it and guilt trip him into never forgetting it again.

Whether you are a man or a woman, finding a way to celebrate Mother's Day can be a difficult feat. The elementary school days of making a card out of construction paper does not have the same charm when presented by a young adult. An idea for Mother's Day that works well is preparing a Mother's Day brunch. Young adults can show Mother that they are capable of cooking and taking care of themselves; something parents wish that their children could do. Fathers preparing brunch with their children can show his wife that he is quite capable of cooking and handling the children. This should remind her why she decided to have children with him in the first place. Here are a few simple recipes to prepare for Mother's Day brunch.

Mimosa: A blend of sparkling white wine and orange juice, its bubbles perk up the day.

-3 parts chilled sparkling wine
-2 parts chilled orange juice

Mix the two drinks together and serve in a champagne flute. Children can prepare a non-alcoholic version for themselves by mixing two parts orange juice with one part sparking water or lemon lime soda.

A Real Man's Quiche: I picked up this recipe from "The Book Lover's Cookbook" by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Jensen, a recipe book I received for Christmas one year. I like this recipe because it converts quiche from an egg custard dish that I lack the patience to prepare into a scrambled egg pie that is virtually foolproof.

-1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
-3 cups cooked, shredded potatoes
-3 large eggs, beaten
-1 tablespoon chopped green onions
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-1/2 cup cooked meat: sausage, crumbled bacon, or diced ham
-Salt & pepper to taste

Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Form a pie crust by pressing the triangles of the crescent roll dough into the pie pan and sealing the seams. Crimp the edges with a fork. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir gently. Pour the mixture into the crust. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown crust. Quiche is done when center is firm. Children wanting to assist, impress their mother, and learn basic food preparation can crack the eggs (have a few to spare in case they mess up the first few times) and stirring the potatoes, eggs, onions, cheeses, and meat in the bowl.

French Toast: A sweet treat as a child and simple comfort food as an adult.

-4 beaten eggs
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Dash of sugar
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
-Thickly sliced bread (potato bread works well); stale bread can do in a pinch

Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl wide enough to accommodate a slice of bread to form a batter. Grease a heated griddle. Coat both sides of the bread in the batter and place on the griddle. Brown each side for about two minutes. Serve with fruit and syrup or jam. Children can help crack the eggs and dip the bread into the batter. Both will teach motor skills and provide a few minutes of messy fun. Just clean up the mess before Mother sees it.

Fruit Skewers: Fruit adds color to the brunch and provides vitamins.

-Pineapple slices (fresh or canned), quartered and drained
-Sliced apples
-Cubed melon
-Grapes
-Skewers
-Lemon juice

Squirt lemon juice over apples to prevent browning. Spear pieces of each fruit into skewers. Children with the hand-eye coordination to not spear themselves with the skewer can make these while Father is manning the stove cooking the other dishes.

For an added bonus of the brunch, clean up and set the dining table. Set a vase filled with her favorite flowers as the centerpiece. Perhaps wear something a little more formal than the gray tee shirt and the blue jeans with only three holes in them. Get a music player to pipe in some classical music during brunch. Most importantly, clean up everything after brunch. Nothing cancels out a thoughtful Mother's Day gesture than a thoughtless gesture of making Mother clean up after HER brunch.

Hopefully these recipes and your handiwork will help create a memorable Mother's Day. Sure, it may be easier to phone it in with a catered brunch or going to a restaurant for brunch. But to create something with your own two hands for your mother or mother of your children shows how much you care for her. Have a happy Mother's Day.