breakfast

i remember growing up, my mom always prepared breakfast for us. whether it was scrambled eggs or just putting out a buffet of cold cereal and yogurts, she always prepared something for us before school. i now look back and see what an effort that took! so even though i am grateful to my mom for trying to give us that "good start" to the day...

i am SO not my mom. i totally fail at the preparing breakfast every morning thing.

luckily for me, i can ease my guilt by preparing some breakfast options that my kids can get ready themselves. since i've put in the pre-work, i don't feel so bad that they have to warm it up themselves. during school, they all get up at different times because they all start at different times. during the summer, hey! it's summer and i want to sleep in.

another reason i do it is because we have vastly different appetites. i have one child who needs something that will stick to her stomach for a good long time. i have a pre-schooler who grazes all morning. every time someone eats she'll take a bite of theirs but "her" breakfast is usually a bowl of cold cereal that she can munch off of for an hour or two. then i have another who like me, prefers something lighter but still traditionally breakfast.

anyway, i've found that muffins and breakfast burritos go over the best here. combined with a few different cold cereals in the pantry and we're set. here are the recipes i use:


breakfast burritos

this is one of those recipes you can vary according to your own taste. i make little mini burritos because one is the right size for the kids and two is just fine for the husband.

2 pkgs small tortillas (16 count each), warmed or fried how ever you prefer.
18 large eggs, scrambled with some salt and pepper
bacon bits (you could also fry up a pound of bulk sausage if you want)
shredded cheese
ketchup (i don't know if it's just a hawaii thing but practically all forms of eggs are eaten with ketchup in our house.)

i do an assembly line here -

tortilla, ketchup first because it's less messy when you roll them up, bacon, cheese, eggs on top. fold all sides in. pack into a large freezer bag or two. these are one of the things i don't freeze spaced out individually first. they stay together better if you pack them in the bag and they are easy enough to break apart if they happen to stick together. i used to wrap each individually in plastic wrap but it's just as good without that added step of work.

the kids and the husband then take out one or two breakfast burritos in the morning and microwave for about a minute. good for the ones who like a heartier breakfast.


pumpkin muffins

preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray 2 muffin pans with non-stick spray.

in a large bowl, mix:

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 C. oil ( i sub 1/2 C. canola oil and 1/2 C. unsweetened applesauce)
2/3 C. water
3 C. sugar ( i sub 1 C. brown sugar and 1-1 1/2 C white sugar)

add in and mix until just blended:

3 1/2 C. flour ( i sub in some whole wheat for this)
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. ground ginger

bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. cool for 5 minutes and then remove from pans. cool completely on wire rack. place on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm. i then bag them into gallon sized freezer bags. when you're ready to eat them, you can allow them to sit and come to room tempurature or microwave individually from frozen for 30 seconds.

you can do this with any of your favorite muffin or quick bread recipes. subbing out with some whole wheat and applesauce make them healthier and heartier. i think i'll do a zucchini bread (turned into muffins) variety this summer.