Freezer breakfasts, part 2

I finally got around to making another freezer breakfast. I didn't tackle all that I wanted to, but considering the freezer has quite a few of my "make once, eat twice" kind of foods, it's enough for today.

I've made these before, but this time, I doubled the recipe and made a few adjustments so I'd have plenty to freeze. These are fabulous, and I really like them as a pre-run fuel.

Note: This is NOT my cookie...my photography skills are not this good :)

The original recipe is from Ellie Krieger on Food Network's Healthy Living. The original recipe makes 12 largish cookies at about 180-190 calories a piece. I doubled mine but got 40 smaller cookies out of it. I didn't calculate my adjustments, but it would be about 108 calories a piece.

Here's mine. This is the doubled version:

1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour


1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (although the first time I used mashed bananas)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup bran cereal flakes

1/4 cup craisins  
 
Scoop out and place on a sprayed cookie sheet. Flatten using moistened fingers (they don't spread at all) and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

I let these cool and freeze flat in individual bags of two cookies inside of a larger bag, much like I did yesterday's lil smokie pigs in a blanket.

I also am working on a way to use up some overripe pears and some apples that I didn't like the texture of. I have them peeled and quartered and in the crockpot cooking down now. This evening, I'll add some spices and a little sugar to make some apple-pear butter. I'm thinking biscuits in the morning with this on top will be fabulous!

I'm planning on making a loaf of banana bread this evening too. Maybe that with the apple-pear butter would be even better :)

Freezer breakfasts, part 1

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I just never seem to be able to get it done. But...I've found that if I just never sit down on a Sunday afternoon, I can get all sort of things done!

I'm working on making some freezer breakfasts so I can make sure that we have a healthy breakfast even when we're in a rush in the mornings. Today's freezer breakfasts are all savory. I'll do another batch of sweet ones later.

First up, Freezer McMuffins!

To begin, you'll need ramekins. I only had 4, so that's how many I made. If you have a large muffin tin (not just standard sized), you could use it. If this works well, I'll have to figure out a way to make this in a larger batch to save even  more time.

Crack an egg into each greased or sprayed ramekin. Break the yolk and add salt and pepper if desired. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.

The assembly line

Layer the English muffin (I used 100 calorie, whole wheat ones) with half a piece of colby/jack cheese and a couple slices of Canadian bacon. Place the cooked egg on top and let cool before wrapping and freezing. According to everything I can find, these should cook in the microwave in 1-2 minutes.

My best guess on the nutritional content: 240 calories, 9 g fat, 10 g protein.

Second up, Egg Muffins, not to be confused with the McMuffins above.

I underestimated how many I could make with 8 eggs...I ended up adding 3 more cups.

Beat 8 eggs with a splash of milk and salt and pepper if desired. Place desired fillings into greased muffin tins before pouring mixture on top. I used spinach, red bell pepper and mushrooms for veggie muffins for me and bacon bits and cheese for the kids (and husband). Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until set. Let cool and freeze in serving sized portions.

If I'd thought about it sooner, I would have added some corn salsa I had in the freezer to some of the cups. Oh, well...there's always next time.

These kind of stuck to the pan, even though I sprayed it. I read a tip somewhere that you could add a little salted water to the bottom of the pan to prevent that. I may have to try it next time. The ramekins worked so much better for the first type of egg.

Each veggie muffin, by my best guess, has about 85 calories.
Each bacon, cheese muffin probably has about 135 calories.

Stay tuned for Freezer Breakfasts, Part 2 (probably next weekend). I think I'll make some scones that you can make by freezing the dough and baking fresh from the freezer and maybe some more breakfast cookies. I've made the cookies before and really like them (especially as pre-run fuel), but I didn't take any pictures while I made them. Plus, I need to make a double batch of them!

Weekly Report

I don't have a lot to report in the way of running this week. I ran an easy, short run Monday and a normal run on Wednesday. That one felt really good, and I hit my groove earlier than usual. However, with my little guy's birthday party this morning, I wasn't able to run my long run. I'm ok with that. I don't skip runs often, and I may try to run or ride tomorrow. Even if I don't, it's ok. I stayed up late cleaning house for the party and couldn't sleep well after my daughter came into our room around 4:30 this morning. Sleep won this morning.

So, this week's mileage report is easy:
Weekly: 7.3 miles
YTD: 440.8 miles

I don't mind missing out on the run this morning. Ryan's party was a success! We had all of our family here along with a few sets of friends. We set up a water slide, two sprinklers and a bubble station. We purposefully planned it early in the day to avoid the heat. We had canopies set up for shade for the adults, so it wasn't horrible. I think the kids really enjoyed the party.

On a different note, I've been feeling kinda crafty this week. I pulled out my sewing machine, and after only minimal frustrations getting it set up, I sewed new valances and a matching pillow for my daughter's room and a pillow for my son. I also made my daughter a pillowcase dress. I have material for a few more of those and a different type of dress I'm going to attempt for her as well.

Something about being creative and using my hands to make something that didn't exist before is completely satisfying. I have a quilt that is in mid-process. It's been that way for years. Maybe I'll actually finish it this summer.

Overhaulin'

For my daughter's birthday, she got to pick out a new comforter. I did stipulate that it had to go with the purple walls even though she'd rather have them painted. I just wasn't up for a painting gig this summer. She picked this:

I did not, however, think through this little plan. The new bedding would require replacing the lamp, clock and artwork, removing the princess rug, repainting a huge bulletin board, changing out the curtains, and sewing valances. Oops. She got to use a birthday gift card to pick out a few matching accessories, and now her bed looks like this:

I did manage to sew a little fleece cover for her Ariel chair and make some artwork for the walls!

While I haven't gotten to the "sewing valances" part, the room is taking shape nicely...except for the clutter. Needless to say, it's about to get overhauled! I am reducing the clutter so that she can keep it clean (or mostly so) herself because I am seriously tired of having to pick up all the stuff in there. So, for tomorrow, my plan is to reduce the amount of "stuff" in her room to a manageable amount.

Isn't it amazing how one project leads to 400 others?

It's a little sad, though, to do all this. A lot of what's in there, the knickknacks and such, have been in her room since her nursery, or at the least, since she got her "big girl" room before she was 2 (before her little brother was born). I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be growing up so fast!

Decluttering

One thing I noticed on my long run this weekend was how many thoughts my poor brain had rattling around in there. It is like a pinball machine! I'd start thinking about one thing and would zip, zip around to a jillion other ideas without ever finishing the first thought.

I decided that it's partly because it's summer and we don't have a routine. True to the Type A personality that I am, that doesn't always work out well. It's also partly because there's a lot of physical clutter in my house. Yes, I know that with two kids it's going to be that way. But it's not all necessary. So, I have taken on a decluttering project. I have checked out the FlyLady's website and even get her emails, but I've never really followed through with it. And now I'm reading The Happiness Project where the author tackles various parts of her life in order to be happier. Those two things combined got me kickstarted this past weekend, and the feeling I have in my now mostly uncluttered bedroom makes me want to tackle the whole house at once.

Now, I know me, and I know that if I try to tackle the whole house today, nothing will get done. Not one thing. Instead, I'm working on one project a day. I was going to clean out my hope chest, which has really become a place to just stash stuff without a home, but when I realized that I couldn't hang up the clean clothes because we were 1. out of hangers, and 2. out of room, I bumped the closet to the top of the list. I'm getting rid of anything I don't wear or don't love, including things I've tried to hold on for the "what ifs" and "maybes". I still have a few things I'm not ready to part with, but the pile of stuff leaving the space is huge.

I'm struggling with just wanting to do more and more and knowing I'll burn out if I try to do too much. So, for now, I'm going to bag up the "getting rid of" pile, hang up the clean clothes, and wait until tomorrow to tackle the next thing.