A Father's Day Special Brunch Cup Tex-Mex Style

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers and singers of song.” —Unknown

Brunch Cups Tex-Mex Style 

Cook's Notes: These brunch cups are perfect for your next breakfast meal or brunch. They are packed with plenty of your favorite Mexican flavors, most of the assembly done ahead and can be made different sizes depending on which type of muffin pan you use. I used a large muffin pan but if use a smaller pan these cups can be used as appetizers. The recipe makes 6-7 large brunch cups.
Pair the meal with fresh fruit and Strawberry Shortcake Kebobs.

Ingredients:

• 1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
• 3/4 lb. Italian Sausage or Mexican Chorizo
• 3/4 cup each sweet onion, diced, and red and yellow sweet mini peppers, diced
• 2 tablespoons green chiles, drained and patted dry on a paper towel 
• 1 cup Mexican 4 Cheeses (prepared package)
• 6 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons of your favorite salsa
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin or 1/2 teaspoon elote seasoning 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a large skillet, cook sausage with peppers and onions. Add in chiles if using. Drain and crumble meat. Set aside.
• In a blender, mix eggs. salsa, heavy cream, and spices.
• Place two sheets of wax paper on the work surface and sprinkle with a generous amount of flour. Use one sheet of pie crust at a time. Since the muffin cup's diameter was 3 1/2 inches, I used a 4-inch bowl to cut out pie crust circles. Press each round into the muffin cup. You may have to reroll scraps to make seven brunch cups.
  

Spoon a generous tablespoon of sausage, onion, and pepper mixture into each pie crust cup. Divide the cheese mixture among each of the cups. Carefully pour or spoon liquid among the cups, dividing it evenly. Do not pour liquid over the pie crust rim. Sprinkle each cup with parsley flakes. Bake 17-18 minutes until the filling is set. Let the brunch cups rest in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them.

Strawberry Kabobs with White Icing

Strawberry Shortcake Kebobs

Cook's notes: The concept is simple and can be tailored in a myriad of ways. Start with a prepared shortcake or angel food cake. Choose a few other kebob-worthy items, such as juicy red strawberries, blueberries, pineapple chunks, etc. – the sky is the limit here. Thread the shortcake cubes and fruit onto the skewers, drizzle with white chocolate, and you’re all done!
Ingredients:

• 2 boxes strawberries
• Prepared angel food or pound cake 
• 1 bag of white chocolate melting wafers
• 10-inch Skewers

Directions:

• Rinse and pat dry strawberries and cut off stems.
• Cut shortcake into 2-inch cubes. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to make it easier to thread on skewers.
• Follow package directions for melting wafers. 
• Take a skewer and alternate strawberries and shortcake cubes. (I like to do three or four of each per stick).
• Drizzle white chocolate all over kebobs and place in the fridge to set.