If you've made homemade apple sauce, then apple-cinnamon oatmeal is a must try. Nothing like the packaged stuff. This make-ahead breakfast is the perfect start to a crisp, Fall morning.
I have to be perfectly honest: I had every intention of coming back from our trip ready to hit the ground. I thought I would have mapped out the perfect back-to-school meals, snacks and lunchbox ideas...carefully planned out how I was going to get that elusive "me" time while the kids were at school...organized all of the articles I've been tearing out and piling up all summer into a tidy binder so I could quickly and easily share new ideas with you all. And the truth is, I spent most of August just enjoying the summer with my kids. Now I'm back, but definitely not focused yet. I can't tell if my head's spinning upon re-entry or if it's just still in (blissful) vacation mode? By the end of the week, both kids will be back in school and I'll probably feel a little bit more organized. But for now, I'm just restocking the fridge/freezer after the week long Hurricane Irene power outage, and focusing on kicking off the new school year on a high note. In that spirit, I wanted to share a new make-ahead breakfast recipe with you all! We gave it a whirl yesterday and it was a hit.
Baked Oatmeal (with Bananas & Almonds)
I made this recipe with what we had on hand: bananas and slivered almonds. As such, it came out smelling and tasting like breakfast-worthy banana bread. The original recipe from Super Natural Every Day's cookbook calls for walnuts, bananas and your choice of fresh berries. If you'd like to follow the orig recipe, the steps would stay the same but your measurements would be: 2 bananas on the bottom of the pan + walnuts instead of slivered almonds in the oat mixture + 1 1/2 cups of fresh berries scattered over the top before baking, instead of that last banana. Really, you can use any type of nut you like, and any type of fruit to top it. But the way we made it was really good, so I'd probably just stick with my almond-banana version. Anyway, in the photo above, the bananas have been covered with the oat mixture, and then I am going to drizzle the milk mixture over the oats.
I did gently tap the baking dish on my counter top, just to make sure the milk mixture moved through the oats. Then I arranged slices of the third banana on top.
The baking time should be between 35-45 minutes. It took 41 minutes for the top of my dish to be golden brown and the baked oatmeal to set. It's goopey if you serve it right away. Best to let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
This is a perfect breakfast to make ahead, and simply reheat slices in the oven or microwave on a school morning. Or, if your new school year resolution is to workout before the kids get up, you could always do the quick assembly, pop it into the oven and let it bake while you workout. The amazing smell wafting from your kitchen as it bakes should get the kids out of bed in time to make the school bus.
I've taken up tennis again this summer. And, this has become my go-to breakfast. Not only is it delicious, but it tides me over til lunch and gives me the energy to zip around the court (totally avoiding my to-do list while the kids are at camp). The breakfast is simple (and makes an equally fabulous lunch or hearty snack):
Now for those wondering, no, my kids aren't digging that breakfast. And so, I've kept a supply of Trader Joe's French Toast on hand...
or I'll give them a muffin, fruit and yogurt...
or, one of the hard-boiled eggs, some fruit and a frozen tube of yogurt if it's hot...
and they've seen their fair share of Van's waffles.
Mornings can be nutty. But that doesn't mean your family has to throw back a handful of cereal as you dash out to meet the school bus. With a little planning ahead, and maybe 1 hour of cooking each week, you can get a few recipes made ahead of time so that breakfast is ready to go on the busiest of mornings.
It’s a snow day today! So, with a little luck, I can pull out the Play Doh, sticker mosaics, pipe cleaners, felt, markers, glue and popsicle sticks and catch up on posts. This morning was another reminder that on the busiest-- or laziest-- of days, it’s so great to have meals made ahead. In today’s case, the boys wanted pancakes so I heated up some protein pancakes with vanilla yogurt and organic (frozen) strawberries on top. And I enjoyed a wedge of the frittata I’d made earlier in the week. Now, if only my children could have slept in, it would have been the perfect, cozy morning! Here are the recipes for the Protein Pancakes and frittatas, or you can always click here for the original post:
Veggie Frittata
I blew into town last night, just before the heavy snow. In case you hadn’t noticed, it was very quiet over here the past week, as I was enjoying a decadent week away with my mom where the only thing we had to worry about was which yoga class to take, whether to hike or take a breathing workshop, and whether to have dinner at 6:30, 7:30 or 8:00. Bliss I tell you.
Anyhow, local schools were cancelled today, which was nice because I hadn’t spent quality time with my children in a week. On my flights home, I had earmarked all sorts of recipes from Mark Bittman’s book, Food Matters, and jotted down this elaborate shopping list, excited to launch back into cooking after being cooked for for the past fifteen meals.
Mark says that it will “keep indefinitely in the fridge” but I think we’ll blow through this batch in the next few days. Excellent eaten plain for a snack (if you have a vacuum nearby), eaten like cereal, or made into yogurt parfaits.
In the October 2009 issue of Health magazine’s Best in Food section, there’s a blurb saying you can “Steal This Dish” and it gives Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Easy Granola. I’d torn it out and filed it into my recipe binders thinking I’d give it a whirl one day. I’m a pretty horrible baker, since I prefer to slice, toss in and stir what I have on hand or what looks good at the market that day, instead of follow instructions. But this one had promise. Well, at least I hoped it was more flexible because I decided to tackle it this afternoon with what I had on hand. It turned out beautifully, and both kids approved. So, now I pass it along to you.
I have no idea what my 2+ year old did with the little piece of paper I’d written notes for my next post on? As the school year starts, I promised you some make ahead breakfast ideas. But after biking around with the kids all day, finally getting two over tired little boys to bed (hours past bedtime), then sharing a bottle of wine with my mom while we read our respective books by the outdoor fireplace, I find myself re-creating the post. And given the choice of frolicking in the mountain air, or sitting at the computer typing all of this up...well, frolicking won out. But though the post is delayed a couple of days, we've got several months of school mornings ahead, so let’s get a couple of great make-ahead breakfasts into our repertoire early in the school year so that morning time goes smoothly...and deliciously.
If you have not yet tried the “Protein Pancake” recipe posted months ago, I urge you to whip a batch up. They are moist and delicious, and if you add enough vanilla and lemon zest, they don’t even need a topping. (Handy for those who are handing breakfast to the backseat in a mad dash to preschool…) Should you find yourself at a table, you can of course always do syrup, but here are a couple other ideas for toppings:
- fresh berries, or cut up nectarines, peaches, etc.
- apple sauce and a sprinkling of cinnamon
- your favorite flavor of yogurt
I am re-posting the recipe here for those who want all four of these make ahead breakfast ideas in one place:
Canyon School’s “Cosmic Cookery for Kids” Protein Pancakes
1 lb cottage cheese (1 tub)
6 eggs
pinch salt
1/2 cup flour
2 t vanilla (or more)
dash of cinnamon
lemon zest (optional)
butter (optional, for fry pan)
Blend everything in the blender until the batter is smooth with a consistency of sour cream. Bake small pancakes on hot griddle, turning once. Serve warm. These pancakes may be made ahead, cooled, and stored in a Tupperware in the fridge for several days. They reheat beautifully.
(Thank you to Erincooks.com for letting me borrow this photo until I get home and can download my own.)
My kids really like my mom’s oatmeal, which I always avoided making because who has the time to cook it in the mornings (never mind then cooling it down, since my children like their food room temp, not warm thank you very much...)? But now that I know the trick, I will avoid those little microwave packets at all costs! This is so easy to prepare the night before, and so much healthier.
Meme’s Oatmeal
4 cups water
1 cup McCann’s Irish Steel Cut Oats*
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
If you are including them, add the cup of dried cranberries (or raisins) to 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 1 cup of McCann’s Irish Steel Cut Oats. Simmer the oats for 1 minute, give it a stir, then place a tight fitting lid on the pot, turn the heat off and go to bed. In the morning, you will have a pot of oatmeal ready to reheat on the stovetop, which will only take a couple of minutes (add a bit of water if it is too thick). Or you can always heat up individual portions in a microwave, if you prefer that route.
For children who need a little prodding to enjoy this, offer up a “toppings bar” and let them doctor up their own bowl. Some ideas: honey; maple syrup; fresh berries or chopped fruit (blueberries and peaches are favorites over here); cinnamon; raisins; dried cranberries
*start with the real stuff—Traditional Steel Cut Oats—which all major supermarkets should carry. It comes in a 28 oz metal can, pictured above.
At least once a week, I heat up a slice of a frittata for the kids. Either on Saturday or Sunday morning I’ll make a big one, and then I store the extras in the fridge for a quick, healthy breakfast during the week.
Basic Frittata
2 cups of your choice of meats and/or vegetables**
9 eggs
½ cup of milk (preferably whole milk)
½ cup any type of shredded or finely chopped cheese (Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, gouda, Dubliner, Feta…)
+ another ½ cup of shredded cheese to go on top
Preheat the oven to 350.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and your choice of cheese. Set aside.Sauté your choice of vegetables and/or meat in a bit of olive oil in an oven-proof medium-sized skillet, until tender. Spread this veggie/meat mixture evenly on bottom of skillet. Pour egg mixture over it, using a spatula to lift up the “filling” along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture flow underneath.
When the mixture is about half set, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the frittata and put the skillet in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until frittata is puffy and golden. Remove from oven and let cool on the counter for several minutes. You may serve it directly out of the skillet, or invert it onto a plate. If doing the latter, be sure to use oven mitts as the handle will still be very hot!! Again, you won’t want to tackle this recipe on the school morning, but it stores well for several days in a Tupperware. I recommend making it on a weekend and enjoying it that morning, then letting the remainder cool completely and slicing it into individual servings, which can easily be heated in the microwave.
Here are a couple of our family's favorite frittatas:
Chicken sausage, bell pepper, tomato and Trader Joe’s Quattro Fromaggio cheese;
Spinach, mushroom and Feta;
Broccoli and cheddar;
Roasted red pepper, artichoke and goat cheese
(Thank you to House Beautiful for this pretty frittata photo. My own photo will follow shortly.)
And last but not least, for those who might like to keep a hearty, comforting casserole on hand, a Strata is another great make-ahead breakfast to serve on busy school mornings. Again, I'd recommend making it over the weekend, then slicing it into individual servings that can easily be warmed in the oven or microwave:
Thank you to Loren Kaplan, my Rustic Canyon neighborhood pal, who located the original Canyon School Cookbook: Cosmic Cookery for Kids. This cookbook from the 70’s contains the real Protein Pancake recipe I so fondly remember my mom whipping up. I thought I'd done a good job of recreating the recipe through memory and the combination of a bunch of recipes I'd found online, but this makes much more sense with the ratio of cottage cheese to flour. Since the cookbook is likely not an easy find, here’s the recipe:
