The Breakfast Assembly Line

School's started and my busy season is just getting underway . . . and by busy, I mean twelve hour days and not a day off until it snows in November - with continuing work into December. 

Fast food is bad for us and the kids need to eat before going to school.  Oh, and I need to eat as well.  So I went out and found or invented several breakfast solutions that can be made in advance and frozen.  Microwave these up before school or work and one major issue of the day is solved.

Yogurt Pops.  Mix two cups plain yogurt with one cup 100% fruit juice (we used Mango) and a little less than a cup of cut up fruit (we used banana).  Ladle into dixie cups and put in freezer for 45 minutes (until they are starting to set up) and then insert plastic spoons or Popsicle sticks.  After they are frozen solid, they're delicious and really great on hot days.

Breakfast Burritos.  These are the hands-down favorites in my house.  Scramble a dozen eggs until they are perfectly fluffy.  (I like putting some milk in the scramble because it gives it a smoother texture and better color).  Cook a package of breakfast sausage loosely until browned through.  Now you're ready for the assembly line.  On a flour tortilla spread a spoonful of egg, some sausage, sprinkle cheese, put a bit of salsa to taste, more egg, more cheese, fold it up, wrap in Saran Wrap and put in the freezer.  Repeat until the ingredients are gone.  We make fifteen at a time with those ingredients. 

Breakfast Sammiches.  We made them on both English Muffins and Bagels, so it's your choice.  Fry some eggs, break the yoke early in the frying.  Try to keep the eggs round a small on the griddle or in the pan by controlling the flow with a spatula or folding over when you turn them.  Now the assembly line.  On each sammich put an egg, piece of sliced cheese, and slice of Canadian Bacon (if you want meat on them).  Wrap in Saran, put in freezer.  We made a couple dozen of these.

Now we have breakfasts for a long time and cooking them all at once saves time.

We also made Chicken Nuggets as an after-school snack. 

Chicken Nuggets.  You'll need two bowls (keep them small and keep refilling each so that everything stays more tidy).  In one bowl mix an egg with a dash of water and beat it until it's a smooth color.  In the other bowl mix up corn flakes (see below), a tablespoon of flour, half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, and some grated Parmesan cheese (I used the amount that I could pick up between two fingers and a thumb, so it's not scientifically measured).  The corn flakes - Fill a medium sized ziploc bag with unsweetened corn flakes, seal, then crush them until they are essentially powder. 

For the chicken, you cut up several (we used six, all natural, organic, free range) breasts into one inch cubes.  Then you dip each chunk into the egg, roll it into the corn flake bowl until covered and put it on a pan.  Put the pan in the oven at 375 deg. F. for thirteen or fourteen minutes and remove.  Let cool and then put the nuggets into individual zip-loc bags and freeze.  We kept the pans full and going in and out of the oven for quite a while and got 12 bags of ten nuggets each.  Of course, they're all gone now.  These are better than any fast food nuggets.

Quick, healthy, convenient.  Enjoy.

- rick, efficient.

Comments

[jajne]

I heard of your b'fast burritos from your gf and made some myself, using refried beans, scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa. Easy! Delicious! Thanks!

[mark]

we make the burritos also, but put in peppers and onions and we wrap in parchment paper.

[Success Warrior]

Very nice. I'm going to link to this when I finish my P90X post for today.

Since doing P90X, most of my meals at home have been chicken breast and raw vegetables but I use the same principle for time. I barbeque all the chicken and dice it up and cut all the vegetables. I keep it all in the fridge and then it's a real quick fix to have some healthy food.

In today's world, part of the trick to eating right is to make healthy food as or more convenient than unhealthy food.

[a rose is a rose]

good ideas all. my friend shawn SWEARS by captain cruch instead of cornflakes though. i have never tried it (nor will i since i don't eat meat) on chicken but perhaps i'll try it with tofu. shawn swears it isn't overly sweet. ....hmmmmm

i do the same with soup. make giant batches and freeze smaller portions in zip lock bags. tomato sauce too.

oatmeal: in a thermos pour boiling water over oatmeal before you go to bed. close it up and in the morning it will be ready to eat then and there OR to bring to school or work. i freeze strawberries or blueberries and add them too when you put the boiling water in.

[John]

Nice! I love quick easy good-for-you food.
Great ideas.