Does the stress of sharing hospitality to groups stand in the way of saying “Yes?”
As holiday gatherings approach, and we begin pondering how to feed the friends and family masses that we will host over night, it’s easy to let the fear of “what will they eat, what if they don’t like it, how will I do it all” steal our joy. We begin to think that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to host after all.
Well, I love serving large groups in a “bar” type of line up.
Yes, one of the easiest ways to begin the bustling mornings is by setting up a DIY Breakfast Bar.
At our recent family reunion, I took the reigns of the meal making management and one of our favorite breakfast set ups was my Breakfast Burrito Bar.
It’s perfect for large groups because with so many choices on the line, there’s typically something for everyone. Whether you have children with picky palettes or young strapping teen men who want to conquer and compete over eggs, cheese and jalapenos burritos, everyone comes out a winner.
Often people want to help me in the kitchen, but it’s easier to do it myself, well, with a breakfast bar, it’s perfect for the phrase “Many hands make light work.” A few people can help with the chopping, someone can line the cookie sheet for my cooking bacon in the oven life saver, while someone else preps the Yogurt fruit salad and my Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Hash brown Casserole.
Since I love the creamy scrambled eggs that I make (no dry eggs for me), I cooked up four dozen eggs split between two pans. One was a plain pan of eggs with just cheese, and with the other skillet, I mixed in a lot of ingredients while cooking.
Then we lined the island with all kinds of fun choices.
Pick Your Favorite Ingredients for the Breakfast line.
Some suggestions include:
- scrambled eggs
- hash browns (plain ones to stuff in the burritos) or tator tots
- shredded cheese (Choose your favorite. We used a Mexican cheese blend and cheddar)
- salsa
- grilled onions
- green peppers
- sliced avocado
- guacamole
- sour cream
- bacon
- sausage
- tortillas
Don’t let the stress of showing hospitality to groups come in the way from you saying “yes.”
Trust me, a Breakfast Burrito Bar is perfect for your next gathering, and it allows the creativity to flow.
Remember, friends and family just want to gather and share life together. They haven’t come for just “the food,” but with this breakfast bar, you can be assured they will leave having enjoyed every moment.
Some of my other favorite “Bar” type creations are the Ultimate Baked Potato Bar and Build Your Own Pizza Bar.
A “just for fun” bar for entertaining is my Coffee Bar. Yes, Coffee Lovers unite!!
I can’t wait to hear what you do the next time you feed the breakfast/ brunch masses.
Great idea, Jen. This would be good for us for the day after Thanksgiving.
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I’m totally doing this bar for our next mission meal. Thanks for the creative idea!
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Jen Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Oh yes, that would be perfect for church. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
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Such a great idea!!!
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Jen, I love your blog – you have such good ideas! 🙂 I am wondering how long your eggs stayed warm, if you had a warmer under them or not. We have a lovely dining area with a big buffet (a family heirloom, and it’s great!) and I put the boys’ breakfast items on there last school year. It was such a success, I’ve continued it this year – they’re old enough at 10 and 7 to get their own, make their own choices, and it frees me up to get their bags ready or pack lunches if we need to.
Keep up the good work; I love reading your posts. 🙂 Thank you for your mission to us, your readers! 🙂
Emily in Michigan
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Jen Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 10:45 am
From this picture, I didn’t. I wrapped the bowl in tin foil and it kept them warm for at least 45 minutes. For a longer period of time, I would definitely have them in a warmer with really low heat, and possibly stir in a tablespoon of warm milk every once in awhile just to keep them from getting dried out.
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Oh how I love, love, love this idea! Yes, many want to help and I never really know what to have anyone do. This is a great way and I can so see it adapted to many other meals … burritos off the top of my head. 🙂
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Jen Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
You are reading my mind – guess what other bars I did during this family reunion. 😉 That post will be up soon.
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LOVE LOVE this idea!!
Can you share how you make your creamy scrambled eggs?
Do you mind if I link and share this on a future Friday Findings Post on my blog for Women’s Ministry leaders? How fun this would be for a ladies breakfast/brunch!
Blessings and much thanks,
Cyndee
PS/ I am soooo jealous you got to go and speak at SheSpeaks! I went in 2009 and would LOVE to go back some day in any capacity. 🙂
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Jen Reply:
July 30th, 2013 at 7:32 am
Cyndee – absolutely! Feel free to share this idea how ever you need and I need to write a post on the creamy eggs because so often eggs are dry. 🙂
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Excellent idea, and so much fun!
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I would not save this idea for just holidays…I would do this every time I had guest and not just for breakfast but for other meals…coffee/tea/hot coco/hot cider bars too! Dessert tables and everything in between….makes no sense to save this idea just for a holiday….it’s a great idea!
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Jen Reply:
October 9th, 2014 at 3:42 pm
Oh you are so right, this is an any time of year large group idea. This post was actually just a gathering of family and it’s always a hit. 🙂 I have a pizza bar, potato bar, coffee bar and dessert bar post too. It’s a favorite. 🙂
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I am going to use your idea for a breakfast bar for Father’s Day.
Could you lead me to your recipe for creamy scrambled eggs? I can’t seem to find it. Thanks!
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Jen Reply:
June 14th, 2017 at 10:32 am
So sorry, Sue. I don’t think I ever posted it. The key is to cook them very slowly and I always add a tablespoon of cottage cheese (or mayo). Yes, it sounds crazy, but you can’t taste either and it gives it a great consistency. 🙂
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