Weekend Menu: Back To School

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Shaking off the ease of summer for the school year can be a struggle, especially when it comes to meal prep! Here are some easy back to school ideas.

Hello Friends!

WOW! Ok, I did not mean to take such a long break from the blog. Life became really busy here and things tend to give. You know what I mean?!? We moved our two oldest into college digs and I have been preparing our youngest for middle school. Geez,time flies. Anyhoo, here we are on the edge of school beginning for our crew. I thought I would dedicate this weekend menu to the crazy schedule of menu planning around homework, sports, pep rallies, etc.

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Let’s start with easy breakfast ideas-

I have been honest with you in the past, I am not organized by nature so I tend to go overboard in hopes that the “over-preparedness” (is that a word?!?) will save me a bit when I fall apart or wake up late! Ha!

Pancakes:

Let me tell you- pancakes have been a life saver around here. I make a HUGE batch of batter as I cook the cakes on the griddle I add little extras, chocolate chips to some, blueberries to some, cinnamon – you get the idea. I allow the toaster-sized cakes to cook till they are almost crispy before pulling them off the griddle. Once they have cooled, I load two or three in freezer bags, label and put them in a plastic container to keep them corralled and in easy reach. Just pop them in the toaster on low for a couple of cycles and voila! Perfect pancakes! If we are in a SUPER hurry – the cakes can be slathered with peanut butter or greek yogurt and made into a quick sandwich to eat on the go.

Waffles: 

Waffles freeze super well and can be made sweet or savory. For a recent Bunco night with friends- I made my first attempt at a savory waffle. Like most things in life… I went a bit overboard and made enough to feed an army or 12 year old boy.  My son loved them. He made sandwiches out of them, ate them with eggs instead of toast, grabbed one to go with his supper until they were all gone. I will share the recipe with you. 🙂

Here is the recipe for the savory waffles I made below:

Smoked Cheese and Green Onion Waffles

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Savory Waffles – The Aspiring Home

Eggs:

Taquitos – season and scramble a dozen eggs. Wrap in your favorite tortillas with a sprinkling of cheese. Once the breakfast taquitos have cooled – place them in individual freezer bags. These can be defrosted in the fridge the night before and warmed quickly in a skillet, microwave or oven on any given morning.

*click on the pic for the recipe

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Breakfast sandwich-  create  sandwich with your favorite bread on hand (croissant, bagel, sandwich bread – whatever you have on hand -I have used hamburger buns in a pinch) eggs, breakfast meat or sliced lunch meat, cheese (optional). Another great one for the freezer!

*click on the pic for the recipe

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Ree Drummond

Breakfast casserole –  a family favorite. Choose your favorite recipe, cook, cool  and divide it into individual servings. Once cooled – yep you guessed it, throw that egg goodness in a freezer bag.

You can also spoon the casserole mixture into lightly greased muffin tins for cute little egg bites for “on- the- go” ease.

*click on the pic for the recipe

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Pillsbury

Take that same tried and true family favorite recipe and spoon it into individual ramekins. Place the ramekins in a casserole dish and bake until eggs set. Let cool. Wrap ramekins with plastic wrap and store in fridge – mine last for about a week. Simply pop in the microwave to warm and add yogurt and fresh fruit…beautiful way to start the day!

Check out the recipe: Individual Italian Fritatta

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Italian Frittata

*Click on the pic for the recipe

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Food Network Kitchen

The School Lunch –

Ok, this can get boring really quickly and I can be the Queen of the boring lunch!  I have had some shining moments of greatness but life gets in the way and my kids have learned to just be grateful for what they get. 😉

Having said that, I once again will attempt to make fantastic lunches for my crew of one. Like just about everything in life- being prepared makes all the difference.

Here are some ideas I will be attempting this year:

How fun and simple is this Taco Bar for one?!?

*Click on pic for the recipe

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Food Network Kitchen

I may have to make an extra Lemon Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap for myself! YUM!

*Click on the pic for the recipe

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Jeff Mauro

My kiddo has discovered a love for tomato soup and grill cheese. Here is a quick 10 minute soup recipe!

*Click on the pic for the recipe

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Food Network Kitchen

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Well, my friends, this is where meal planning is a life saver! I love freezer cooking and try to have one week’s worth of meals in the freezer for those crazy long days when my patience is thin and I do not want to think about “what’s for dinner”.  There are many awesome sites on the world wide web with fantastic recipes but here are a few sites that I use.

Pioneer Woman’s Freezer meals

Saving Dinner 

Good Luck! Here’s to a wonderful school year filled with amazing food! At least, for the first couple of weeks ;). No, seriously- I’m going to try really hard this year.

How about you?

Till Later,

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Need a little encouragement from other moms? I’ve got you.

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