Breakfast Burritos

The kids have been on an egg kick lately. They want them boiled, scrambled, fried, anyway they can get them. Me, I can't stand eggs, they pretty much gross me out. They are a cheap source of protein though. I finally found two ways I'll eat them. I'll share one.

The kids love them in breakfast burritos. For them, they just like a tortilla filled with eggs and cheese and a little hot sauce. That doesn't quite do it for me though.

I like to saute about 1/4 of a red pepper, chopped, 1/4 of a green pepper, chopped, a couple of tablespoons of chopped onion for each burrito I am making adding a teaspoon or so of Cajun Seasoning. In the last minute I also add about 1/4 of a chopped tomato.

I add two scrambled eggs with the above veggies to a tortilla. YUM! There are far more veggies than eggs and I can not only stomach them this way but actually enjoy them! The veggies with the Cajun Seasoning are so flavorful you don't even need any salsa, cheese or anything else.

Smoothies!

I LOVE smoothies! They are by far my favorite breakfast food. My blender died a few months back and I have been yearning for my beloved smoothies. My dear husband came to the rescue by getting me a blender for Christmas. So we are once again in the daily smoothie making mode. Never mind that it is freezing cold out, I sip on mine in front of the blazing fire place. A smoothie with a piece of toast with peanut butter fills me up till lunch time.

You can make just about any kind you like using your favorite fruits, but one of my favorites is this.

Banana, Orange and Pineapple

1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

about 2 cups milk(you can use soy!)

2 bananas

1 cup vanilla yogurt

a couple of handfuls of frozen pineapple

about 3 tablespoons honey

ice cubes if you like yours thicker

I just mix all in the blender until smooth.

makes 2-3 servings

Another favorite, at least by the kids is this:

Strawberry Banana

2 cups milk

2 bananas

1 cup vanilla yogurt

about 3 tablespoons honey

2 big handfuls frozen strawberries

Again, just mix and enjoy!

Makes 2-3 servings

You can use just about any mixture of fruits, yogurt and beverage you like. Be sure to add honey for sweetness! You can also add flax, wheat germ, protein powder and other nutritional supplements.

If you are using fresh or canned fruit, be sure to add extra ice cubes for thickness.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I tried these this morning for a change of pace and all I can say is YUM!! They are good. A bit sweet, so syrup is optional. Actually they were almost too sweet even with agave nectar.

1 1/4 cup flour

1 T sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 T baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 C milk

4 T melted butter

3/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Enjoy!

Breakfast Ideas...

Breakfast can be a hard one, unless you're satisfied with boxed cearl and willing to pay the high price per box. I do occasionally get cearl for a very good price(60 cents to a buck a box!) with sales and coupons, and stock up as much as I can we I can find those deals. With a family of six, even 10-20 boxes doesn't last long, we can easily go through a box a day, and more often than not two boxes! OUCH!!

Cearl can also get quite boring after a while, and in most cases cearl is highly processed, loaded with sugar and not very healthy.

So what's a mom to do? I take the same approach with breakfast as I do with pre-made frozen lunches. I make large quantities of pancakes, muffins, rolls, and breakfast sandwiches and freeze them. Then the kids can just help themselves to what they like in the morning.

Our favorite pancake recipe is this one:
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups buttermilk(I use regular milk with 2-1/2 tbls vinegar)
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/2 cup flour
2 tsp sugar
4tsp veggie oil
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

I usually double or triple the recipe and mix it all together and cook them all and freeze the extras in individual servings. These are also good to make the batter and store in a container to take camping!!

I will also make large batches of a variety of muffins and sweet breads to freeze. On of my favorites is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins:


1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tbls ground flaxseed

1 tsp vanilla

1 2/3 cup flour

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 cup chocolate chips

mix together and pour batter into grease muffin pan. Top with cinnamon/sugar mixture(3/4 cup sugar and 2tsp Cinnamon, save left overs for the next few times!)

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Delicious

Not the least expensive option, but one of our favorites are breakfast sandwiches. You can use biscuits(home-made or store bought), bagels, or English muffins.

On each stack with cheese slices, meat or veggie sausages and eggs. I freeze these in individual servings as well.

It takes a little work to make such large batches all at once, but it is worth it to have ready made items on hand when the kids start complaining of being hungry. You could buy all of these pre-made, but I guarantee you these are MUCH cheaper and healthier!!