By Staff
Michelle Blaylock, Mom's Corner
Hello! I'm Michelle Blaylock and I'm the columnist for "Mom's Corner."
I have six children (ages 20 months, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 years) and I've been a foster parent for about six years.
We (hubby, kids, and I) moved here last March and are finally starting to "settle in." (Moving with six kids is no picnic!) Over the summer, I met many moms who had great ideas that needed to be shared with other moms (dads and grandparents, too!).
Therefore, that is the purpose of this column; to share ideas about saving money at home, kid's lunches, saving time, quick recipes, whatever you do that helps your family. I'd love to hear from you. My address is Mom's Corner, P.O. Box 1496, Hartselle, AL 35640.
"What's for breakfast?" I get to hear this at least five times every morning. Well, since I'm not a great morning person and I absolutely refuse to crawl out of bed earlier than 5:30 am to fix a big "Brady Bunch" breakfast, I came up with some economical shortcuts so my family isn't stuck with cereal every morning.
1. First, try cooking a whole package of bacon or sausage over the weekend and then wrap it in the paper towel it was drained on, store in a Ziploc bag in the fridge. To reheat, I either pop it in the oven at 350¡ for about 5-10 minutes (comes out just like it's fresh from the skillet) or I use the microwave at 50 percent power and keep the bacon or sausage wrapped in the paper towel I drained it on. I've found these methods give the best flavor.
2. Over the weekend, I sometimes fix a large breakfast pizza. I use pizza crust pressed onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan, thaw a package of tator tots and crumble them over the top of the pizza crust, fry 1 pound of sausage, drain well, then sprinkle over the tator tots, cover with cheddar cheese, beat six eggs with a cup of milk and pour over the entire thing; bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
This keeps well in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave. You can also add green peppers, onions, or whatever you like! My hubby likes to top his slices with salsa.
3. Here's some other quick breakfast ideas: Bagels and cream cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, toast with peanut butter–use fruit to make faces, yogurt with granola and fruit, scrambled egg on toast with cheese, or fruit and yogurt smoothie. You can add all sorts of goodies to scrambled eggs, like lunch meat, green peppers, onions, sausage, bacon or tomatoes. Several years ago, my hubby started making "Daddy Eggs." He crumbled thawed tator tots in a skillet and browned them; then he added beaten eggs and other goodies like green pepper, onions, etc. Now the kids ask for "Daddy Eggs" frequently.
I hope these ideas help you add variety to your morning. If you have a favorite quick breakfast or an idea to share, I'd love to hear from you, God Bless!