Brunch on a Budget

Like any millennial, I’m obsessed with brunch. In the spring/summertime, I usually eat brunch every week. Now, as many of you know, brunch is not cheap. Most young people spend $20, $30, or even more on brunch every week. Although I do love going out and having a nice meal with a group of friends, I’m making an effort to cut down on eating out for brunch in an effort to save my coins. However, I didn’t let this stop me from eating my favorite brunch foods. Towards the end of my final semester in college, my friend, Savannah, planned a brunch with all of our friends at her apartment. She prepared avocado toast, bacon, eggs, fruit, mimosas, and all of the usual brunch fixings. Not only was the food great, but it was just as much fun as going to a restaurant.

When I go out to brunch I almost always order the Salmon Benedict. I don’t trust a brunch place unless it has this item on the menu. I usually compare restaurants based on how good their salmon benedict is. Clearly, I love this dish but it was starting to cost an arm and a leg paying for it every weekend. Therefore, I decided to learn how to make it myself. You can find the recipe I used to make it here. This meal consists of an english muffin usually topped with arugula, tomato, smoked salmon, a poached egg, and topped with hollandaise sauce and sometimes capers. (However, every restaurant has there own variation of this dish so this description is by no means comprehensive). Personally, I don’t like arugula or tomatoes so I made this dish without those ingredients. Instead of topping my benedict with dill and capers like the recipe, I used some fresh cracked black pepper since that was what I had on hand. I was also able to buy a microwavable egg poacher from TJMaxx for $4 so that made cooking the egg a lot easier. I had never poached an egg before and was afraid I was going to mess up so I decided to take the easy way out and microwave it. It seems ridiculous, yes, but the eggs did come out perfect. I also made some parmesan roasted potatoes and a side salad to go with it.

This was a very fulfilling meal and it was very easy to make. I encourage you all to attempt this dish and host your own at-home brunch event. Even if it’s just by yourself! Trust me, your taste buds will thank you.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

To make the potatoes, I cut baby potatoes in quarters, drizzled olive oil and sprinkled italian seasonings, seasoning salt, shredded parmesan cheese, and minced garlic over the potatoes to coat the potatoes. I then mixed everything with my hands and baked in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Hollandaise Sauce

(Recipe included in YouTube video)

Poached Eggs

Made in egg poacher