These simple, yet flavorful, brunch recipes will help to make your holidays stress free.  Dress them with festive décor and holiday china and enjoy a great meal with family and/or friends.

Baked Peach French Toast – Serves 10

2/3 cup packed Meijer brown sugar

1/4 cup Meijer butter or margarine

2 tbsp. water (or juice from fruit)

2 (15 ounce) cans Delmonte Lite sliced peaches, drained

12-16 (1/2 inch thick) slices day-old Multi-grain, Whole Wheat or French bread

5 eggs

1 cup Meijer fat free milk

1 tbsp. Meijer pure vanilla extract

2 tsp. McCormick ground cinnamon

Optional ingredients:  Mix in 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 sliced banana or 1 cup fresh raspberries with peach mixture.

  1. In a saucepan, stir together brown sugar, butter and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Add peaches and stir well to coat.
  2. Layer half of the bread slices into a 9”x13” baking dish, pour peach mixture evenly over bread slices. Top with remaining slices of bread.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Slowly pour over the bread slices to coat evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
  4. Remove the dish from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Turn bread pieces and sprinkle with lightly with additional cinnamon.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  5. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. Spoon out portions to serve.

Serving suggestion: Top with a dollop of Dannon vanilla yogurt and a side of Canadian bacon

Nutrition Information per serving: Calories 261, Fat 8g, Saturated fat 3.5g, Cholesterol 106mg, Sodium 326mg, Carbohydrate 40g, Fiber 2.5g,  Protein 9g.

Cheddar N Ham Muffins - Serves 9

3/4 cup 2% Kraft sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1-3/4 cup reduced fat all-purpose baking mix

1 cup Meijer fat free milk

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup lean ham, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped green onion

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix cheeses, milk and baking mix together.  Add pepper, ham and green onion.
  2. Mix well and spoon into lined muffin pans 1/2 full.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition Information per serving:  Calories 140, Fat 4 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 7 mg, Sodium 435 mg, Carbohydrates 16 g, Fiber 0.5 g, Protein 7g.

Recipe adapted from United Dairy Industries of Michigan, www.UDIM.org.

Serve Cheddar N Ham Muffins with Festive Fruit Salad:

Festive Fruit Salad – Serves 8

1 large ripe honeydew melon, seeded and cut into 1-1/2-inch chunks

1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. Meijer sugar

8 oz. Dannon Greek style vanilla flavored yogurt

In a large bowl, toss melon, strawberries, lime juice and sugar. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve topped with a dollop of vanilla yogurt.

Nutrition Information per serving: Calories 133, Fat 0 g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0g, Sodium 63mg, Carbohydrates 30g, Fiber 2g, Protein 3g.

Mock Mimosas - Serves 12

1 (12 oz) can Meijer frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 small (6 oz) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

2 cups cold water

1 bottle (25.4 oz.) Sparkling Apple Cider or Sparkling Grape Juice

Ice cubes

  1. In a large container combine orange juice concentrate, limeade concentrate, and water. Cover and chill. Just before serving, carefully add sparkling cider/.juice.
  2. To serve, transfer mixture to 2 large pitchers. Add ice cubes to each glass before serving.  Garnish with fresh mint sprigs if desired.

Nutrition Information per serving: Calories 80, Fat 0g, Saturated fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 4mg, Carbohydrate 19g, Fiber 0.5g, Protein 1g.