School started on Tuesday of this past week for my oldest two children
{pausing for a momentary happy dance}.
Along with all the other aspects of the back-to-school schedule (laying out clothes, packing lunches, bedtimes), it was time at our house to get
back to breakfast.
I'm a big believer in breakfast; I could go find you a bunch of links to studies about the relationship between a healthy breakfast and success at school but I won't bore you. If you're a mom who's watched your child gobble up a bowl of Sugar-Smacky-Wacky-Pops only to end up in an utter meltdown within two hours, you know that a good breakfast can make all the difference in your kiddo's day...and yours as well! We Moms need to fuel our brains and bodies right, too.
Along with building a
5 Week Meal Plan for dinners, one thing I did as the start of school approached was some once a month cooking for healthy breakfast choices. However, given the sheer appetites of my family, my final amounts of prepped and frozen goodies are more likely to last us two weeks.
Here's what I made:
Left Freezer Box: Homemade Waffles & Homemade Pancakes
Center:
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls a la Bread MachineRight Freezer Box: Eggwiches and Breakfast Burritos
You can see I used plastic wrap to individually wrap serving sizes of the items in the freezer boxes; I also have several more of each item wrapped and packed into freezer bags in my spare fridge's freezer.
I doubled up my fave cinnamon roll recipe in my bread machine (I do this all the time), so I ended up with (2) full pans of rolls. One has already been devoured by my bunch; they love cinnamon rolls with fresh fruit on the side for breakfast.
My personal fave breakfast item is the simple little eggwich:
Yum! I can grab one from the freezer and nuke it for 45-60 seconds and either eat it at home or munch on-the-go as I'm dropping my kiddos at school. These are easy to make and are healthier and far less spendy than what you might get at your local drive thru. Here's my basic recipe for cook-and-freeze amounts:
Eggwiches--> (12) English Muffins, toasted
--> (1) Dozen Eggs, scrambled (I use a big electric skillet for this)
--> (6) American Cheese Slices, halved
--> (6) Deli Ham Slices, halved
--> butter (optional, smear the toasted muffins)
Scramble eggs; while eggs are cooking, split and toast muffins (adding smear of butter if you wish). Once eggs are cooked, set up an assembly line of muffins, eggs, cheese, & ham; assemble and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze wrapped eggwiches in freezer bags or freezer boxes. Makes 12.The beauty of the eggwich recipe above is that it is
basic; you can spruce it up however you'd like with different cheeses, meats, veggies, and spices. I do the same with my breakfast burritos for which the basic ingredients are tortillas, scrambled eggs, and shredded cheddar cheese.
I've linked you to my fave cinnamon rolls a la bread machine recipe above - be warned! They are addictive!
Looking for more ways to cook ahead? Go visit my dear friend Tricia at
Once A Month Mom; her site is a great resource for once a month cooking with recipes, grocery lists, and detailed plans on how to approach your big cooking day.
Are you a cook ahead kind of mom? What's your fave recipe to cook ahead and freeze?Thanks for reading and subscribing to The New Frugal Mom!
