big Sunday brunch

it's sunday again.

sundays aren't really my favourite day of the week here. going to church isn't really that fun or enjoyable and often i come home quite tired from trying to corral my kids and not make too much of a scene. it's enough that we're mzungus {white people} without being rowdy mzungus. 

but that's not what this post is about.

big Sunday brunch is partly for me. to eat delicious and filling food before heading out to church that happens to fall right over the lunch hour.

this week i had some leftover pumpkin puree from thanksgiving so i made up my own pumpkin spice pancakes and served them up with an overnight egg bake. add some tea and juice and you've got yourself a big Sunday brunch.

voila!

here's the overnight egg bake {which was delicious, by the way!}:

ingredients:

8 eggs

1 cup of milk

8 slices of slightly stale bread {more or less...whatever looks good to you. this recipe is totally changeable depending on what you have in your fridge/cupboard/pantry}

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

whatever else you want to throw in! {i used 1/2 a green pepper, 1/2 a red onion - finely diced, some pork sausage. next time i'll add in some tomatoes and maybe some mushrooms too!}

assemble ingredients and put in a large, greased casserole dish. cover and put in the fridge the night before.

in the morning, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until it's not so jiggly and looks done to you.

and the pumpkin spice pancakes while they were in the pan {also a hit!}:

combine:

2 cups flour

2 T sugar

4 t baking powder

1 t salt, optional

combine separately and add:

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup oil or melted shortening

2 T brown sugar

1/2 t each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

stir quickly until blended and then drop onto an {ideally} hot, greased griddle {or you can just use a large pan like i do.} in any size you prefer {i use a 1/4 cup measuring cup}.

keep warm in a warm oven on a baking sheet if you want to serve all at once. serve with  maple syrup or anything else you think would go nicely with pumpkin spice pancakes!

one thing i do love about sundays here is after church, once we get home, we hear hymns being sung in luganda for the whole afternoon coming from a nearby church. it's beautiful with all the different harmonies and i often hum along with them.

there are always things to be thankful for. sometimes you just have to listen for them.

linking up with Miss Elaineous Mondays

date night and big Sunday brunch

so we had our first date night since moving to kampala.

we went out for dinner and a movie.

and i took a boda boda. at night.

it was terrifying. 

i honestly do not want to do it again.

and there is no way i will willingly let noah or jude take a ride on one.

absolutely terrifying.

my legs were like jello for a couple hours afterward.

but i digress.

we got there safely and quickly and a lot more cheaply than if we had taken a private hire (taxi cab). 

dinner was delicious, i laughed out loud (a lot) in the movie and we got to chat about a lot of things.

and yesterday was Sunday which meant that we had big Sunday brunch!

it was delicious. i love big Sunday brunch. trevor said to me that he doesn't know which is more exciting; Friday pizza night or big Sunday brunch. i couldn't pick either.

we had bacon and cheesy scrambled eggs with banana muffins (for the kids) and coffee banana scones. yum!

next week i'm making these. um, i'm really excited.

after brunch, while we were at church i was getting pretty frustrated with the boys. they were fighting with each other and up and down and not listening and  i could feel myself getting angry.

angry at the boys. angry at our church for not having children's programs that start at the beginning of church and just angry that i didn't get to have a peaceful church experience. 

as we sang (i forget the song), the thought of sacrifice and picking up our cross and following after Jesus struck me. hard. 

motherhood isn't easy breezy. 

but it isn't the easy breezy things in life that conform us to the likeness of Christ, is it? 

nope. 

so i lowered my expectations, prayed for patience and love and moved through and forward to choose to have joy. 

and church finished early! 

i was thankful for that. (is that wrong?)

we're just over 6 weeks into life here and it's pretty good. my next goal for myself is to make up a monthly curriculum plan for noah including games, crafts and reading/writing. hopefully by the end of the week i can have something made up.

happy Monday to you!

big Sunday brunch

i love traditions. 

and i just started a new one.

because the church we've decided upon doesn't have any english services earlier than 11am and goes 'til 1pm we found ourselves very hungry after church is finished.

so on saturday night i decided that sunday mornings we would have a big Sunday brunch to tide us through the lunch hour while at church.

this Sunday brunch menu consisted of:

masala tea

baby bananas and oranges

my own take on the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls

cheese and ham quiche

and some cinnamon bread/toast for those who wanted it.

it was delicious.

i love this tradition already.

{because really? who doesn't like brunch?}

dinner is almost ready and we had minor snacks this afternoon.

i think the big Sunday brunch worked.

linking up with Miss Elaine-ous Mondays.