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Time Savers
By Moriah on September 16th, 2009
Our fall schedule is a little bit nuts. The only day of the week we don’t have anything… er, okay, we have something every single day.
The kicker is getting Drew to school by 8:45. If you know us well, you know we’re usually not even UP by then, certainly not ready to be out the door. (Working on that. Ahem.)
So I just wanted to share something that helps me save morning time and results in a breakfast that my kids will gobble up. (I also do this on a lot of Saturday nights for the Sunday morning race to church.)
That is the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and chopped walnuts (to the side) ready to be made into muffins, come the morning. All I have to do is add the oil, milk, egg, and smashed bananas.
I even get the pan ready:
Just don’t forget to turn the oven on the second you roll out of bed.
(Not that I’ve done that or anything.)
Feel free to share your time-saving tips in the comments; I need all the early-morning help I can get. (And yes, I also make school lunches the night before.)
15 Responses to “Time Savers”
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Mm-Mm yum!
Pancakes can be made ahead of time – just slightly undercook them, lay out on a wax paper-lined sheet tray for freezing, then store in a ziplock bag. Reheat in the oven (or toaster oven) while getting ready. Also, if your family likes boiled eggs, those can be done ahead of time and kept in the fridge until needed – just peel & eat (or warm up in some hot tap water for a while). Then, of course, there’s oatmeal in the microwave (even old-fashioned oats only take ~ 1 minute/bowl). :)
Microwaved eggs: Spray Pam in glass dish/bowl, crack and slightly beat egg in the dish. Cover with paper towel. Cook 1 min-ish. Sprinkle cheese on it, 15 more secs. Slide it out onto a paper plate, with a side of banana and milk. All the food groups covered. Check, check.
If your kids like raisin bran muffins, there is a great, easy recipe in the original RP cookbook called 6 week muffins from Leanne. You can mix everything in the bowl (it makes a big batch) and just leave it in your fridge up to a few weeks to be baked on demand.
Also, when we have waffles on Saturday, I make a double batch, make a whole bunch of extras, and freeze them in ziplocks. A quick pop in the toaster is all that is needed. Who needs eggos?
Since Andy works very late, your schedule called for later mornings. It is a big adjustment for all of you to shift your day by an hour or so. School changes things…some good some not so good. I’m praying for you all…that you can get the sleep you need….quick time of settling into a good routine for all. Love you all so, Mom
good idea. i had a friend tell me when she loads her dishwasher, she goes ahead and puts all the forks/spoons/knives together so unloading is super fast.
Love it! I used to do something similar right after Judah was born- that was loading up the coffee maker before bed, so all I’d have to do in the morning would be to turn it on! I even had my cup already waiting w/milk and sugar in the fridge! So sad!
I do the mornings in two stages. 1) My kids get up and get dressed, brush hair, get completely ready to walk out the door. They even get shoes on. Backpacks are completed and by the door (usually the previous night) 2) Then they can sit down to have breakfast. That way, after breakfast we aren’t flitting back and forth trying to get everything done. I’ve found it insures we don’t ‘forget’ things because everyone is running around crazy at the last possible moment.
PS Moriah, welcome to the busyness of school =) At least there isn’t time to get bored.
We bulk make items like PBJ, waffles, and egg muffins so we can thaw/ heat them in the morning. While we don’t have to be out of the house early, it makes getting our day started go smoother.
My friend used to set the breakfast table the night before…
I have a recipe for baked oatmeal. It makes a big pan and we can eat off of it all week long. Very good and very filling. It cuts down on the breakfast crazies. Email me if that’s something you think your kids would eat. (Or google it…the recipe is easy to find).
You’re good! I’m doing good to pop a waffle in the toaster. LOL
Our morning seems to go smoothly. I’m not a morning person, but we all seem to get up and out the door on time. My only hard and fast rule is no TV before school, because that would obviously distract the kids that have to get ready. My little ones know that is the rule and they don’t seem to mind.
Pancake batter can be made the night before and left in the fridge. I also make a big batch and put the left overs in the freezer. The heat up in the microwave in about 30 seconds. There not exactly the same as freshly made, but they are still good. I’ve also baked frozen biscuits and cooked a package of sausage to make sausage biscuits. I just wrap them up and stick them in the fridge or freezer and heat them in the microwave for a quick breakfast in the morning.
Baked breads and muffins usually freeze really well to so you can take them out as you need them.
We do the baked oatmeal here, too…really good with peaches. We also have steal-cut oats twice a week, so that soaks overnight and is ready to just heat up in the morning. And there’s always homemade granola. :)