Mom Treats for Mother's Day

We are nearing the middle of May, and you know what that means … Moms across the nation are bracing themselves for burnt toast, rare sausage and pancakes with extra syrup. (Not to mention plates, napkins and forks with extra syrup, and possibly some variety of crumbs, juice and syrup on their bedspread.) Yay! Some mothers find all of this “breakfast in bed” business very charming and sweet. They are good mothers … the ones who are going for that “Mother of the Year” award and actually have some hope of achieving it.

If you are the other kind of mother (like me) you might not see the thrill in frosted flakes with extra sugar and chocolate chips. You might not be excited about a trip to the laundromat to wash all of the comforters, shams and blankets. And maybe (just maybe) you don’t even LIKE burnt toast, much less crumbs in your jammies. If that’s you, I have good news. It turns out we can sometimes herd our little lambs in the direction we want them to go!

Place a box of Strawberry Swirl Buckle on the counter and say, “Wow! Doesn’t that look good?! I know someone could sure make MY day if they made that for me!” Or set out a few of our seasoning blends and say, “Honey, I think it’s time for me to tell you about some of my secret ingredients … do you think you are ready to know? It’s very important, so Mommy’s counting on you to use this information wisely!” It helps to place the seasoning blends on a print-out of our Quick & Easy Mini Quiche recipe …and it wouldn’t hurt to suggest that they have Dad read the recipe to them.

So this year, help those little dickens get where they need to go! Or – make YOUR mom a nice little brunch – see the photos below. I may not be able to keep the crumbs out of your bed, but I can tell you that this brunch was super easy and extra delicious!

Mother's Day breakfast in bed: Fresh Fruit, Strawberry Swirl Buckle, Quick & Easy Mini Quiches and a Samba Mimosa.

Strawberry Swirl Buckle

Strawberry Swirl Buckle Cake Mix, prepared as directed

Samba Mimosas

(also known as “Mommy Juice”)

Samba Sangria
1 bottle champagne or sparkling wine (750 ml)
2 cups orange juice
1½ cups warm water

Empty and rinse bucket. Combine ingredients in bucket; stir to dissolve. Freeze 8-10 hours. Stir; scoop into glasses and serve. Makes about 9 (8 oz.) servings.

Quick & Easy Mini Quiches

1/2 cup Perfect Parmesan Biscuit Mix
2 tsp Onion Onion
2 tsp Bacon Bacon
2 tsp Spinach & Herb Mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients; whisk to blend. Place cheese in the bottom of a greased muffin tin. If you are using “regular” size muffin tins (not mini or jumbo), you will use about 9 of the muffin cups. Pour about ¼ cup of the milk mixture over each cup of cheese. Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes or until quiche are browned and set. Makes 6-9 servings.

Testing Notes

I used non-stick spray to grease my non-stick muffin tin … don’t skimp. With the cheese in the bottom, some of mine still stuck to the pan just a little near the top.
Feel free to toss in a little cooked bacon, sausage or ham. And if you’re feeling guilty add some veggies. Broccoli is nice.
These will puff up just like a cupcake when baking, then sort of collapse back down after you take them out of the oven. That’s OK.
This is a great recipe for kids to make – perhaps with adult supervision, depending on how old they are. It’s fun to add the cheese to the muffin tins, and for the batter you just dump everything in a bowl and whisk it. Easy!
The biscuit mix makes a crust at the bottom. Like magic!
These are surprisingly delicious, and great when you don’t have a lot in your fridge!