Back to School Breakfast Solutions

The air is getting crisp and the mornings call for a sweater. The beginning of the school year is upon most of us, and leisurely mornings will no longer be enjoyed during the week. Here are some back to school breakfast solutions that will hopefully simplify your mornings and bring a smile to the entire family!

Most of these recipes can be enjoyed fresh as well as being frozen in individual servings to be heated up and enjoyed for tweens, teens, and adults!

This post was the idea of a friend who called me this morning asking for breakfast ideas for her two adorable boys - so I apologize for the lack of photos. I'm usually much more prepared for posting...but school starts here in less than a week. I promise I'll add some photos to this post - or if you try the recipes and have photos of your own, please feel free to share them and I'll add them to the post (you can email them to me at: crystaljotto@gmail.com )

Healthier Muffins (or bread)
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat (unbleached) flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon (I'll be honest, the more the merrier with cinnamon in this house)
3 farm fresh eggs
1 cup applesauce (home made is best and leave it chunky for added moisture)
3 teaspoons vanilla (don't scrimp on vanilla and use the real deal if it's available)
1 1/4 cups agave nectar (or honey - but if using honey you may have to use a bit more)

Options:
2 cups grated zucchini (if you have picky eaters you may want to process the zucchini so it is not detected)
OR
2 cups dried cranberries and a bit of orange zest
OR
2 cups fresh blueberries
OR
2 cups dried blueberries
OR
2 cups raisins
OR
1 cup strawberries with 1 cup rhubarb
OR
2 cups strawberries
OR
2 cups dried cherries

More Options:
Chocolate Chips - use your discretion...I say you can never have too much chocolate (especially dark) so throw in the entire bag if you'd like!
OR
walnuts
OR
pecans

truth is...the options never end!


Instructions:
I wish I could tell you that it matters which ingredients you put in first, last, or in the middle...but I honestly do most of my baking with small children so we are just happy to get all the ingredients in the bowl and not on one another...(side note - when telling a 6 year old to find something hard to crack the egg on - you may want to specify that although you often tell your six year old how hard-headed he is...his head is not what you had in mind).

We toss all the ingredients in the bowl and mix with a vengeance until everything looks just right! Then we have a conversation about what type of pan we are going to use - this particular recipe can be divided into a muffin pan for cupcakes, into a bread pan, or into a cake pan...you do what works for you and adjust the baking time accordingly.

Set the oven to 325 and bake for approximately 40-60 minutes for a cake (less for cupcakes, more for bread).

After fully cooled - you can wrap muffins individually, cut bread or cake into single serving portions and then you can freeze them. I like to make muffins for myself or a friend who is having a baby. The single portions are easy to take out at bedtime and by breakfast you're ready to grab and go!

Enjoy!!!



Breakfast Burritos
The toughest part of this recipe is deciding what to include in your burritos.
Ingredient options:
Soft tortillas (spinach, tomato basil, wheat, etc...)
scrambled eggs
diced onions
diced peppers
diced tomatoes
pieces of bacon
fully cooked ground sausage
salsa
shredded cheddar cheese
hot sauce
mushrooms
black olives
ham
shredded swiss cheese
etc...

Instructions;
I cook the eggs (and meat if necessary) then combine all desired ingredients in a large skillet. When I make this recipe I go big...like 2 dozen eggs at a time...

While that mixture cools, I lay out as many soft tortillas as will fit on my workspace.
Scoop egg mixture into the tortillas - I find that 1C of egg mix per tortilla works best
And now for the tricky part (not really)
-fold the burrito in half
-fold in the sides
-roll until burrito-fied

Repeat until you've used all your tortillas and egg mixture

Place wrapped burritos on a cookie sheet for freezing (if your freezer has a particular odor, then cover the sheet with saran wrap)

Freeze over night

Individually wrap your burritos in saran wrap and then place into a large freezer storage bag and label (I save the yummy ones for myself and the kiddos get the boring ham n cheese or whatever they've chosen).

Pull out of the freezer and remove from saran wrap before heating

wrap in paper towel and heat 1-2 minutes in the microwave

ENJOY!!!



Apple or Pear French Toast Bake
6C bread torn into pieces (approximately 1 loaf)
1 dozen eggs
2 cups milk
¾ cup honey or sugar
2 TB vanilla
½ cup brown sugar
1t cinnamon
¼t salt
1 stick of butter cut into small pieces

Options: 4 C sliced apples or pears (slice like you are baking a pie - peelings are optional)

Instructions:

Line a greased 9x13 baking dish with the bread

Place fruit over the top of the bread

Whisk together other ingredients. Pour evenly over bread and fruit mixture

Cover your pan with Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight or if you are in a rush, just let it sit until it gets soggy

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until top is golden brown - add some powdered sugar if desired

You can absolutely eat this right out of the pan (after it cools a bit), or you can freeze the entire pan to be heated up later, OR cut into single servings, freeze in small sealed containers and then just microwave 2 or so minutes when you need a sweet breakfast treat!

Pancakes
We all have our favorite pancake recipe - so I won't tell you exactly what to do or not to do, but I will tell you that you can freeze a few pancakes in a freezer bag and the kiddos can grab them and heat them up in the microwave for 45 seconds and make their own breakfast if you want to sleep in every now and then!

Omelet in a Pan
6C bread torn into pieces (approximately 1 loaf)
1 dozen eggs
2 cups milk
1 C shredded cheese (cheddar is our favorite, but any flavor will do)
¼t salt
1 stick of butter cut into small pieces

Options: 4 C total of any or all of the following -
diced onions
diced peppers
diced tomatoes
pieces of bacon
fully cooked ground sausage
salsa
mushrooms
black olives
ham

etc...

Instructions:

Line a greased 9x13 baking dish with the bread

Mix your optional items in with the bread

Whisk together other ingredients. Pour evenly over bread and veggies

Cover your pan with Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight or if you are in a rush, just let it sit until it gets soggy

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbly - add some more cheese just show your love for dairy farmers!

You can absolutely eat this right out of the pan (after it cools a bit), or you can freeze the entire pan to be heated up later, OR cut into single servings, freeze in small sealed containers and then just microwave 2 or so minutes when you need a savory breakfast treat!