Let’s see how we could put together a brunch that would be festive, fun, and have food that is filling, but inexpensive.

A skillet meal is very easy to prepare quickly and with relatively little fuss. There are many recipes to choose from, like this familiar favorite, a Frittata. This is typically a skillet of fried rice or potatoes with a variety of meats and vegetables added. Then eggs are poured over and the Frittata is cooked without stirring until the eggs firm up. Cut into wedges right in the skillet and serve just as it sits. Use a nice cast iron pan for a pretty and homey appeal.

A casserole is probably one of the most familiar and popular dishes for brunch and there are countless recipes from which to choose. Most begin with some sort of potato like hash browns, or bread. To that choose your layers: sausage, ham, green pepper, cheese, egg. This assemblage is refrigerated overnight, then baked in the morning and served hot. You can make this as simple or as complicated as you choose.

For omelets it’s fun to prepare all the filling ingredients: the mushrooms, green pepper, ham, onions, or anything else that you like inside your omelet and place them in separate small bowls. With an omelet pan you can make individual omelets in minutes.

How about a Muffin Tin Meal? Picture mini pot pies full of your favorite breakfast foods. You can start with some simple biscuits in a tube, roll them out flat, and line the muffin tin just like a pie pan. Then fill with sausage, a little hash browns, and crack an egg on top. Sprinkle some shredded cheese and pop them in the oven until they are nice and golden brown and the egg is done. Or you can make up a batch of muffins from a mix and throw in some ham bits, or bacon, and cheese and turn a regular muffin into a whole meal.

Don’t forget to get the coffee started early. Have a choice of coffee and tea, as well as nice pitchers filled with milk, juice, and water on the table. You can forget about the fancy desserts, but a few cookies would certainly be nice.