I think Easter Brunch is right up there with Christmas Cookies and Thanksgiving Appetizers for me in terms of things I love to make.

Do you remember that game Outburst? (A Game of Verbal Explostions….yeah, sounds like my kind of game.)

If the card chosen was “Things/Ingredients you Eat on Easter,” here are my answers:

candy
coconut something
carrot cake
eggs
spring veggies
citrus
ham (ew)
chocolate
potatoes
lamb (ew, ew)

How’d I do? This is really a glimpse into how I menu plan my holidays. What are the staples, the traditions, and how can I use them.

Here’s a photo of our brunch spread this year, which looks strikingly similar to last year’s.

I realize I like to have three things for my Easter Brunch: a main course, a savory side, and a scone. (And candy, of course.)

Last year it was ebelskivers, vegetable orzo salad and not-so-pretty vanilla bean scones. This year was Bananas Foster waffles, overnight breakfast casserole and carrot-coconut scones. Yuh-um!

To make my life easier, I try to do as much in advance as possible, including setting the table. I did this all the night before while making the egg casserole — every dish, glass, serving spoon and hot pad in position.

I love these little guys.

Then start filling in the spots as you start to cook.

Last year we went with jelly beans, but this year was all about the chocolate-peanut butter eggs.

Look at this newbie on the block. So. good.

You had me at brownie bits.

This was my favorite table addition, though. Look at those sweet, sweet eyes!

The table ultimately had a lot of yellow/orange on it.

And everything was absolutely delicious. I’ve clearly upped my scone game from last year’s tasty, but disastrous-looking triangles.

I’ll write separate posts for each of the dishes, starting with the overnight breakfast casserole. I knew I wanted some kind of egg dish, but nothing I’d have to babysit while juggling waffles and scones that morning. This Pinterest find (that I doctored to meet our serving and vegetable needs) ended up being the perfect solution. All I had to do was saute some vegetables, thaw some hashbrowns and I was ready for the big day.

Took about an hour to cook and cool, enough time for us to get our waffle on. I love those crispy brown edges.

We halved the original recipe I based this on. I can’t imagine the crew of people she was feeding with it!

The recipe itself is very versatile…just use whatever vegetables and cheeses you have in the fridge. It was so easy to throw together, I can see us doing this for a quick weekend treat. Enjoy!

Overnight Breakfast Casserole

15-oz. frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
7-oz. broccoli florets, stems removed
red pepper, chopped finely
1/2 large onion, chopped finely
handful of mushrooms, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 c. shredded cheese, divided (we used mixture of sharp cheddar and colby jack)
1 Tbsp. butter
6 eggs
½ + 1/8 c. milk
½ + 1/8 c. sour cream
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. (If baking now.)

Saute the vegetables in butter until softened about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In an extra large mixing bowl, combine the potatoes, 1.5 cups of the cheese.

Evenly spread half of the potato mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Top the potato layer with the cooled vegetables. Cover the vegetables with the remaining potato mixture.

In the same mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream and salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese (1/2 cup total).

Bake* covered loosely for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 15­-20 minutes or until the egg is set and does not appear to be runny. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. May be served hot or at warm at about room temperature.

*If you are making this ahead of time, prepare the casserole, cover and store in the refrigerator up to 24 hours, until you are ready to bake it.