Want to send Mom over the moon with delight? Wake her up on Mother's Day with this gorgeous, delicious breakfast tray featuring baked ham and spinach eggs, pull-apart monkey bread, and broiled grapefruit. It's a great balance of savory, sweet, and tart flavors, but the best thing about it is that it's absolutely easy to prepare! Dads and kids can easily pull this off and wow mom in the process. Note: there is a little bit of prep work the night before, so don't forget! I've also got a step-by-step list at the bottom for dads, kids, or kitchen novices who might need a little coaching.
Let's get started!
Baked Green Eggs & Ham adapted from Rachael Ray 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 2 large shallots, finely chopped 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted in microwave and liquids drained 1/2 cup heavy cream salt and freshly ground black pepper freshly grated nutmeg, to taste 8 slices deli ham or prosciutto 8 eggs fresh chives for garnish Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the extra-virgin olive oil and the butter and sweat the shallots a few minutes. Add the spinach and stir in the cream, season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a little grated nutmeg. Cook the spinach, stirring occasionally, until the cream has thickened, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning to your taste. Fold each slice of ham or prosciutto in half and line them in a nonstick muffin tin, one slice of meat in each cup. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cooked spinach into each of the cups, then crack an egg into each, making sure it stays whole. Season the tops of the eggs with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bake in the oven until set, about 15 minutes. Allow the baked eggs to cool in the muffin cups for a couple of minutes before removing them from the pan. Serve immediately. Pull-Apart Monkey Bread 24 frozen dinner rolls 1 cup brown sugar 1 package butterscotch pudding (Cook & Serve style, not instant) 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup butter pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional) Directions Before going to bed, spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and sprinkle chopped nuts into the bottom, then top them with the frozen dough balls, evenly spaced. In a bowl, mix the brown and white sugars, butterscotch pudding mix, and cinnamon together with a fork and pour evenly on top of the dough. Melt the butter in the microwave and pour evenly on top of everything. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and leave it to thaw and rise on the counter overnight. (HINT: If your house is warm and humid, place the bundt pan on a cooking sheet as your dough may rise above the pan and spill onto the counter before morning. If it does, press the dough back into the pan, poking your fingers down into the pan to burst some of the air bubbles and get it to fit back in.) First thing in the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before transferring to a serving dish. Spoon any excess glaze from the pan onto the bread before serving. Broiled Grapefruit 2 grapefruits, halved 1/3 cup brown sugar freshly grated nutmeg Directions Set oven to broil. Cut grapefruits in half. Spread brown sugar evenly on a small plate. Press the open side of each grapefruit half into the sugar to create a thin layer of coating. (A few clumps here and there is fine.) Place grapefruit halves open side up on a cooking sheet. Grate fresh nutmeg on top and then broil for 3-5 minutes, or until sugar begins to bubble and brown. Serve warm or room temperature. HINT: Here's my chronological to-do list to prepare this breakfast for Mom. Night Before Prepare monkey bread Place frozen spinach in fridge to speed the defrost process Set out breakfast tray with dishes, silverware, and napkin. Morning Of Preheat oven to 350 degrees for monkey bread. While monkey bread is baking for 30 minutes, prepare the baked eggs. Remove monkey bread from oven and raise temperature to 375 for the baked eggs. While the eggs are baking, prepare the grapefruits. Remove baked eggs and raise the oven temperature to broil. While grapefruits are broiling, place a serving of monkey bread and eggs on the plate and fill the juice and/or coffee cups. Remove grapefruit halves from the oven and place one on the dish. Breakfast is ready! Serve to Mom and pat yourself on the back.