When life brings changes, I feel a little rattled til I can find a new rhythm to adjust to the change in tempo. This month has brought with it some unfamiliar developments and it's taken me some time to figure out how to adapt. "School starting" has meant not only the courses I teach Betsy but also her one day per week courses which means I have to get her somewhere. In the morning.
Now I know for you seasoned conventional school moms, it is pretty pathetic to need to adjust to one day per week school -- you do it five days a week! Trust me, you have my most ardent admiration! Thinking of, planning for, and preparing lunch before I've even fixed breakfast requires skills not tapped into since my college calculus classes. Whew.
On top of the once a week expectations, Chip is now a high school Senior/college freshman doing the whole joint enrollment thing. No courses under my tutelage. Probably his dream come true?? So he's gone every day just like normal people!!
And then, with my Mom being incapacitated since her fall, I've had to figure out how to make this new tempo work and get everybody what they need and when. Namely food. And specifically breakfast! 4 out of the other 5 folks in this house need to break their fast at a different time. And while I adore them all equally and love to prepare tasty nutritious food that conveys my deepest feelings every day, the only one that really merits that kind of attention is the hubs.
SO, what to do? How to feed the masses from 6-9 AM five days per week?
Breakfast freezer meals. I've done freezer meals for dinner for over two decades but now my arsenic hour (you know - that time lapse of 5-6PM when you're trying to fix dinner and nobody cooperates? Arsenic hour - either take it or give it!) comes in the morning, not the evening. Freezer meals for breakfast. That's become my solution. That's my new rhythm. And I think some of you might find an idea or two that can simplify your mornings, too.
Here's a couple of sites that gave me some ideas and then I'll share the menus I've already prepared in case you want to try some, too:
http://www.notconsumed.com/2014/02/21/diy-breakfast-station-easy-bi-monthly-cooking-for-busy-moms/
http://www.5dollardinners.com/15-grab-n-go-breakfast-ideas/
Over the course of three days, about 45 minutes to an hours each day, I stocked my freezer with
breakfast burritos
strawberry muffins http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-muffins/
banana chocolate chip muffins http://www.5dollardinners.com/whole-wheat-banana-chocolate-chip-muffins-pantry-challenge-recipe/
baked oatmeal muffins http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-oatmeal-ii/ (I add chocolate chips instead of cranberries)
cooked sausage patties and homemade biscuits
apple cake bread ( doesn't sound healthy to eat cake for breakfast - so I changed the name)
strawberry bread (because I don't like bananas but I do love Washington Farms strawberries from my freezer!)
sausage & cheese muffins
cheese grits casserole (for a crowd - not individual portions)
I asked my FB friends for some breakfast ideas and got awesome suggestions. Thank you! Trying some already! My friend Tricia shared a cheese soufflé recipe that I'm going to try out this weekend when the whole gang will be here. It looks DIVINE. I'll give you that one once I've sampled it. I cannot wait - it has a boatload of cheese and green chiles - oh YES!!!!
Other breakfast ideas : /livingletters4/2014/01/breakfast-included.html
/livingletters4/2013/10/update-of-love-for-my-living-letters.html
Now I can grab what I need for each person (after I've served the hubs his daily bacon and eggs) and pop it in the microwave (or in the hands of each child.....) , add a boiled egg or strip of bacon (which can also be prepared ahead!) and presto! Breakfast is served!
If you have some ideas for how you simplify your mornings, I'd love to hear them. And maybe we should just meet at Cracker Barrel to chat about them around 9???
Now I know for you seasoned conventional school moms, it is pretty pathetic to need to adjust to one day per week school -- you do it five days a week! Trust me, you have my most ardent admiration! Thinking of, planning for, and preparing lunch before I've even fixed breakfast requires skills not tapped into since my college calculus classes. Whew.
On top of the once a week expectations, Chip is now a high school Senior/college freshman doing the whole joint enrollment thing. No courses under my tutelage. Probably his dream come true?? So he's gone every day just like normal people!!
And then, with my Mom being incapacitated since her fall, I've had to figure out how to make this new tempo work and get everybody what they need and when. Namely food. And specifically breakfast! 4 out of the other 5 folks in this house need to break their fast at a different time. And while I adore them all equally and love to prepare tasty nutritious food that conveys my deepest feelings every day, the only one that really merits that kind of attention is the hubs.
SO, what to do? How to feed the masses from 6-9 AM five days per week?
Breakfast freezer meals. I've done freezer meals for dinner for over two decades but now my arsenic hour (you know - that time lapse of 5-6PM when you're trying to fix dinner and nobody cooperates? Arsenic hour - either take it or give it!) comes in the morning, not the evening. Freezer meals for breakfast. That's become my solution. That's my new rhythm. And I think some of you might find an idea or two that can simplify your mornings, too.
Here's a couple of sites that gave me some ideas and then I'll share the menus I've already prepared in case you want to try some, too:
http://www.notconsumed.com/2014/02/21/diy-breakfast-station-easy-bi-monthly-cooking-for-busy-moms/
http://www.5dollardinners.com/15-grab-n-go-breakfast-ideas/
Over the course of three days, about 45 minutes to an hours each day, I stocked my freezer with
breakfast burritos
strawberry muffins http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-muffins/
banana chocolate chip muffins http://www.5dollardinners.com/whole-wheat-banana-chocolate-chip-muffins-pantry-challenge-recipe/
baked oatmeal muffins http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-oatmeal-ii/ (I add chocolate chips instead of cranberries)
cooked sausage patties and homemade biscuits
apple
strawberry bread (because I don't like bananas but I do love Washington Farms strawberries from my freezer!)
sausage & cheese muffins
cheese grits casserole (for a crowd - not individual portions)
I asked my FB friends for some breakfast ideas and got awesome suggestions. Thank you! Trying some already! My friend Tricia shared a cheese soufflé recipe that I'm going to try out this weekend when the whole gang will be here. It looks DIVINE. I'll give you that one once I've sampled it. I cannot wait - it has a boatload of cheese and green chiles - oh YES!!!!
Other breakfast ideas : /livingletters4/2014/01/breakfast-included.html
/livingletters4/2013/10/update-of-love-for-my-living-letters.html
Now I can grab what I need for each person (after I've served the hubs his daily bacon and eggs) and pop it in the microwave (or in the hands of each child.....) , add a boiled egg or strip of bacon (which can also be prepared ahead!) and presto! Breakfast is served!
If you have some ideas for how you simplify your mornings, I'd love to hear them. And maybe we should just meet at Cracker Barrel to chat about them around 9???