On Thursday morning St. Patrick’s Day will be here! I personally think it’s OK to start celebrating as soon as March arrives…and now that there’s only a couple days left until those Leprechauns show up, I’m quite certain it’s completely acceptable for the holiday festivities to officially begin! So on Sunday morning I decided to surprise my family with a simple and healthy breakfast. It really is a pretty easy thing to do and a welcome “top ‘o the mornin” greeting as those sleepy heads wake up late after loosing an hour of precious sleep! You may be familiar with my desk in the dining room…I use it all the time as a buffet to serve just about anything from after school snacks, everyday dinners, and nibbles for celebrations! And when I’m not dishing out goodies, it makes a wonderful spot to hold extra serving dishes, holiday decorations…and even doubles as a dumping ground for backpacks and homework! But yesterday it became a mini St. Patrick’s Day breakfast buffet to welcome the holiday week!
festive, easy, holiday inspired breakfast…
this desk in the corner of my dining room is a perfect place for me to have some fun with my food displays…but the wonderful thing is that you could use a small kitchen cart, a beverage cart, or any small table that could be easily moved to create a special serving station! a dark and rainy morning couldn’t dampen spirits after a cheerful wake-up call…
i LOVE party backdrops! the one hanging behind the treat table was easily handcrafted with simple supplies…
i made this mobile last year after i found the weathered, curved piece of driftwood on the beach! some paper circles strung on wires were attached to the stick by simply wrapping the thin wire around the top and letting the strands dangle at different lengths. now you can readily find pre-crafted paper garlands in craft stores making it even easier to make an inexpensive backdrop to keep on hand for your next celebration! and to add some Irish charm…i just pressed on the glittery shamrocks with some heavy-strength tape! (it almost looks like a shiny pot of gold could be sitting beneath it!)
and the food choices were all items that i regularly have on hand…so other than the holiday embellishments, i just needed to raid the fridge.
a healthy family favorite…yogurt topped with home-made granola. i’ve shared the recipe before, but i’ll share it again at the end of the post. it’s SO easy and makes your kitchen smell like you’ve spent all afternoon baking cookies! a bowl of ice keeps the yogurt cool in case i have late morning stragglers…
and these little wooden spoons don’t just look cute but they make clean up a breeze! i love the fact that you can commonly find these items in craft stores now so you can keep your pantry well stocked without having to place a special order!
…paper straws find themselves just about everywhere in my house! again, they’re so plentiful in shops AND most are now very inexpensive so it’s a cinch to pop some in a glass to make any buffet look happy! the shamrock jar that mine are displayed in is from the Target dollar spot…and as a matter of fact, so were the straws!
even though this is a St. Paddy’s Day display i couldn’t resist the bunny dish, which would normally hold eggs, to display another family favorite…clementines!
an apothecary jar filled with mini breakfast biscuits and bottles of milk round out the simple menu…
i took the extra paper shamrocks and scattered a couple around the food. i also stuck one in a cloche tucked in among some fairy lights to add some sparkle to the table! it almost required sunglasses to look at it…but since there was no sunshine to be found outside, i figured the brighter the better!
simple, sparkly, healthy…my kind of morning!
easy granola:
4 C. whole oats (about 1/2 container)
1 C. slivered almonds
1 C. wheat germ (optional)
mix these ingredients in a baking pan and set aside. in a small sauce pan combine:
1/3 C. brown sugar
1/3 C. maple syrup
1/3 C. canola oil
bring to a boil. then pour over the oats and stir to coat well.
bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stir and bake another 15-20 minutes until oats are golden and almonds are crisp.
you can add any dried fruits if you desire after it has cooled. store in an airtight container.