By By Lisa Tindell – news writer
My son may not be ready for school to begin again, but I certainly am. The only thing I dread is the fact that we have to get back on the hurried morning routine of dressing, breakfast, school drop-off and on to work.
I know that my child is certainly not a morning person, so getting him up and out the door in a reasonable amount of time is quite an undertaking. Getting up earlier to have a nice, leisurely breakfast is, most of the time, out of the question.
Because I know that I am not alone in my quest to provide a good start to the day for my sleepy-eyed school student, I have decided to throw out a few recipes that might make your morning a little easier to get through. Some of the recipes are perfectly fine to make ahead and simply warm up in the microwave for a quick get-away on school mornings.
The first recipe I'll share with you is a hit with my son and I've even shared it with some of his overnight guests on a few occasions. All of the children who've had this breakfast at my house want me to give the recipe to their moms. It's not a difficult one, and the ingredients can be made ahead of time.
Usually on a Sunday afternoon, when I have a little quite time around the house, I prepare the ingredients for this quick breakfast wrap. Scramble up six eggs, brown a pound of your favorite bulk sausage (the kind in the tubes) and refrigerate separately in zip top bags or in airtight bowls. The ingredients are fine for a five-day week worth of breakfasts.
Breakfast Burritos
Bulk-type sausage, browned and drained
Eggs, scrambled
Salsa
Cheese
Tortilla wraps
Place tortilla wrap on paper or microwave safe plate. On one half of the wrap, arrange about two tablespoons sausage and two tablespoons scrambled eggs. Top with about two tablespoons grated cheese and one to two tablespoons of your favorite salsa. Roll up burrito style and place in microwave. For freshly prepared ingredients, heat the wrap for about 30 seconds. For refrigerated ingredients, warm for about one minute. Allow to cool slightly before eating.
If your child doesn't like a Mexican-style breakfast and is more of a cereal person, this one may be a quick idea to consider. Instead of having to sit down with a bowl of cereal with milk at the table, this quick breakfast can be eaten on the way to school with a minimum of mess. It's a great make-ahead idea that the kids can help to prepare, which will encourage them to eat the dish.
Nutty-Oaty Cereal Bars
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups toasted oat cereal
1 cup salted peanuts (optional)
Grease a 9×13 inch pan. In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar and honey. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter until well blended. Stir in the cereal and if desired, stir in the salted peanuts. Press into the prepared pan. Allow to cool until firm, then cut into bars.
If your children like muffins, you have a great opportunity to put a little extra fiber into their diets. With additions like raisins, cranberries, walnuts and other favorites, you can make them a great morning starter. Most any kind of bran can be substituted with equal parts of the original variety of All-Bran cereal.
Bran Muffins
1 1/4 cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon molasses or dark corn syrup
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup golden raisins
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with paper muffin liners. In a small bowl, mix together the wheat bran and buttermilk. Set aside to soak until thickened, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, egg and molasses. Stir in the bran mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter until just moistened. Mix in raisins. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
If your crew likes bacon for breakfast, this next muffin recipe will give them just what that like. It's also a great way to have breakfast ready at the touch of a button on a busy morning. The all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda can be replaced with self-rising flour. I'm not sure what you could use as a substitute for the wheat germ in this recipe, but since it's available at most every supermarket in our area, it will probably be worth the investment to have a jar in your pantry.
Savory Breakfast Muffins
4 slices bacon
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup canned cream-style corn
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups. Place bacon in a skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, wheat germ and salt. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, corn, butter, oil and bacon. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients, just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25, until golden brown.
I hope that these recipes will get you off to school a little quicker in the coming weeks as everyone moves back into their regular morning routines. I plan to make better use of my Sunday afternoons than just watching old Lifetime movies. My goal is to prepare breakfast for the following week on Sunday afternoons this year. My son will be so pleased to have something more than a pop tart or a left over piece of pizza for breakfast.
Now my only problem is getting him out of bed at all.
If you have a recipe idea or a tip for the kitchen I'd love to hear from you. Give me a call at the office at 867-4876 or drop me a line at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com. Until next week, Happy Cooking!