How an at-home brunch can save money

How an at-home brunch saves money

Happy Budget Saving Tuesday with tips on how to save money during high inflationary times.

Today, we are discussing how an at-home brunch can save money!

Most of us love to meet friends for brunch, but let’s face it, that can often get a little pricey.

Hosting an at-home brunch can be fun and budget saving!

HOW AN AT-HOME BRUNCH CAN SAVE MONEY

How an at-home brunch saves money

Consider these points:

  1. Having an at-home brunch and preparing the menu with friends is fun.  Often, you can host this as a type of potluck and allow guests to bring something for the meal.  Then you are saving money by not providing the entire meal.
  2. Leftovers stretch your budget!  You can feed yourself or significant other with the leftovers and get more bang for your buck.
  3. It saves to prepare food with your condiments and ingredients on hand…think of how often we toss some of these things when the expiration date hits. 
  4. Some eateries are so expensive right now (not really their fault) that one meal for you out, can often equal several meals for you at home.           

 

AN AT-HOME BRUCH MENU AND HOW IT MIGHT WORK

how an at-home brunch saves money

For the sake of an example, Leigh Ann and I decided to put together a brunch menu with both of us bringing something “to the table.”

She regularly makes at home Egg Bites which are a knock-off of the ones served at Starbucks…her Mr. T really likes these.

We decided it would make a perfect budget saving at-home brunch item.

The COPYCAT STARBUCKS EGG BITE RECIPE FROM RECIPE GIRL is what we followed.

They are delicious and I am going to make them soon for Mr. B and serve with salsa…he believes most everything goes better with salsa.

I liked the veggie ones Leigh Ann made for our at-home brunch.

 

at-home brunch

I love this salad and it is so easy.

Place a bag of fresh baby spinach in a bowl, and add two cups of sliced strawberries, and either a cup of blackberries or blueberries.

Toss with roasted chopped walnuts….I always roast my own in the over at 400 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

I was going to mix it with Poppyseed Dressing I had on hand, but Leigh Ann said WAIT!  She had an original recipe from her mother and it was delicious.

LEIGH ANN’S MOTHER’S HOMEMADE POPPYSEED DRESSING

You will need:

3/4 cup sugar (I used Truvia and it was so good, no after taste. It would also be good with honey as the sweetner)

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. prepared mustard

2-3 tsp. grated onion

1-2 tsp. poppy seeds

1 1/4 c. salad oil

Mix ingredients together.  If you mix this in a blender it works best. If not, shake well with each use.  Keeps well in the refrigerator. (We shook ours with a blending bottle)

Toss with the salad.  Your guests will think you worked really hard and you did not!

For the final touch on the main meal, add a little cantaloupe or watermelon…we are sure one of your guests would love to bring this for everyone.

at-home brunch

I was kind of going for a CELEBRATION OF FRUIT theme and we kept that in mind as we selected the menu.  

For the drinks, I simply froze blackberries in ice cubes.

at-home brunch

Then I served over the ice cubes Bubly Sparkling water in the blackberry flavor.

You could do this with any fruit in the ice to match various flavored waters….there is no sugar or calories in the water.

AT-HOME BRUNCH DESSERT

at-home brunch

We decided to keep with the fruit theme and serve frozen yogurt blueberry ice cream and lemon cookies.

Leigh Ann uses a Cuisinart 1.5 Quart Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream Maker to make her frozen desserts.

Her favorite recipe is actually a Frozen Yogurt recommended by Weight Watchers!   BLUEBERRY FROZEN YOGURT

We added more blueberries to ours…simply because we were not measuring…just tossing…call us the Happy Cooks!

at-home brunch

The lemon cookies are the highest calories item on our menu!

But, they taste great with the blueberry dessert and are very bunch-like…tiny bites of YUM!

at-home brunch

Lemon Cookies for At-home Brunch

1 lemon box cake mix…really any brand works

2 eggs

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (I know…but it sure is good)

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

Mix well the cake mix, eggs, milk, and butter until the dough is smooth.  Press it into the bottom of a cookie sheet and sprinkle white sugar lightly across the top.

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until dough puffs up and is lightly brown.

at-home brunch

Then you want to cut them out into tiny round, at-home brunch shapes.

I like to wash off and use the top of one of my McCormick spices.  It is the right depth and shape for a brunch cookie.

Yes, there is some “cookie stuff” leftover that don’t make the shapes…but it is perfect for a grandchild or two to partake of…..

AT-HOME BRUNCH DECORATIONS

at-home brunch

Since we are focusing on saving money here, just decorate your at-home brunch with what you have on hand.

I think bringing flowers in from the yard are a lovely touch.  When Leigh Ann and I sat down to this meal, I brought in a potted plant for the table.

Get creative and have fun with what you have on hand.

We had fun staging an at-home brunch for you and it inspired me to think of doing a large one toward summer or even fall.  There are many ways it saves us money rather than hitting an expensive place to eat.

I have been shocked lately at the cost of just meeting a friend for lunch.  The POT LUCK plan is a good one we should all remember and work!

Thanks for joining us today for how an at-home brunch can save money!  Please share if you do this and what your favorite menu is!  Now, remember to

KEEP SMILING!!

By Pamela Lutrell

Summer sales are well underway…

I appreciate your support of this blog by shopping with my SHOPPING LINKS, and if you don’t see the retailer you need for anything, just send me an email and I will see if I have a link.

Here are links for LLBeanBombas Land’s End, and Sundance!

Email is over50feeling40@gmail.com.  

A special thank you to everyone who does this to offer your support of the blog!!

Check out my new video on YOUTUBE and please consider a subscription to my channel….Pamela Lutrell’s Channel.

Budget saving tips

19 Comments

  1. Great ideas Pam! I’m going to use the lemon cookie recipe soon… I’m having my realtor over to see the transformation of my new place, something we’ve been planning, and these will be the perfect small treat to have on hand. Great timing! It really is expensive to go out, fun as it is. My sister and I still meet for breakfast a few times a month but notice a huge difference in pricing as time goes by. Everyone seems to enjoy a brunch, so this is a good way to entertain. Potluck is even better! You are so right about using what we have before it expires because these days waste is costly. I sure won’t be wasting the trimmings from those cookies…!! 😉

  2. It’s is so much fun to host a brunch this way at home occasionally. We had fun cooking together… thanks Karen!

  3. I love the sound of the recipes for brunches in the UK! Thanks for sharing!

  4. These ideas are great, Pam and Leigh! It’s nice to have some new ideas!! Thank you for sharing!!

  5. What a fun posting this morning! Entertaining at home is definitely cost-saving and can be a lot of fun, particularly in the summer. The recipes look great! As you are looking for video ideas, some cooking features or wellness themed videos could be one way to expand your repertoire. I also liked one reader’s idea of some travel themed videos of your local area, although probably all of these require a lot more work to put together.

  6. Egg bites are a great grab and go snack for the golf course. I was buying the ones from Costco but they are pretty caloric and a bit too greasy for me. I’ll be trying this recipe for sure! Thanks Pam!

  7. I’ve made egg bites for years but never used cottage cheese so I’ll have to try Leigh Ann’s recipe. I usually add ham or sausage, and spinach, colored peppers, veggies I have on hand. Just last night I found a blueberry cheesecake recipe to use some of the many blueberries I’ve picked off of our bushes, but now I think I’ll also try the blueberry yogurt ice cream recipe although I do not have an ice cream maker. I usually keep a mason jar of poppy seed dressing in our refrigerator because my Mr. B likes some on his fruit salad. Your at home brunch is a great idea and would be fun for all involved. Thanks for sharing these recipes and ideas.

  8. I love egg bites and they are so easy to make. Brunch at home sounds great and most of the ingredients for breakfast out are very inexpensive; you are mostly paying for the labor when dining in a restaurant at breakfast. I use frozen strawberries all summer, in water or crystal light. I will make that poppyseed dressing for sure as we love those salads with berries (and feta cheese) as our dinner. One tip is to get a Yeti or other low spill, insulated cup and make your own coffee before errands or when starting a road trip. The price of a coffee is insane these days!

  9. Thanks for this great post. We host a brunch during the Christmas season, and even though I love to cook, I always struggle with a menu, especially things that can be prepped ahead. These are some helpful ideas. A potato cheese casserole is also always a hit. And mini yogurt cups in juice glasses are nice.

  10. Great budget saving idea ! I must try those egg bites and the homemade dressing recipe! I do make a similar summer salad with berries – refreshing! Yum!
    Thank you for sharing!

  11. Wonderful post and great ideas this morning! I’m definitely with Mr. B in the salsa-makes-life-better camp. 😅 I have made egg bites for years with a pie crust bottom for appetizers, but will give your lighter version a go since it would be so handy for busy mornings, or to stock in my parent’s freezer for when they need a little protein snack.

  12. I’m going to make these egg bites this weekend. Thanks so much!
    I hope you had a happy 4th! You look terrific in the green shirt.

  13. Your brunch menu sounds delicious! The salad sounds like a favorite one of mine from a nearby restaurant. It would make a wonderful main course with the addition of chicken. Perfect for these hot summer days!

  14. It’s back to the old ways and old days. My parents were children of the Great Depression. Potlucks were the way they shared meals with friends and family. I remember going out to eat in a restaurant on one rare occasion as a child, and commenting that the food wasn’t very good. I was used to good home cooking and nothing could top it.

  15. Great post, I so enjoy having friends and family for brunch. The recipes you have given look great, we will be trying them. The best always

  16. I made the egg bites and Leigh Ann’s poppyseed dressing for spinach-strawberry salad. Lovely kick start to my day! Always fun to see what you two are up to. With appreciation to your team.

Comments are closed.