Sunday, August 21, 2011

Early Morning Sustenance

School is fully underway with a few changes to our schedule. This year Jeff is teaching an A hour class that begins at 6:40 a.m. and I'm working in the credit recovery program that gears up at 6:50 each morning. These early demands mean we have to be out the door by 6 a.m. instead of our usual 7 a.m. I'm not really a morning person these days, so the thought of getting up an hour and a half before leaving just didn't set well with me. (Normally we arose at 5:30 and left at 7.) So we decided that streamlining the morning routine would allow us to back up the alarm by only half an hour and still leave on time.

One place we've had to give a little time is breakfast. Traditionally, I made a quick breakfast of scramble eggs and toast or oatmeal with fruit, but the one hour time frame doesn't accommodate those tasks. To make sure breakfast is available on demand, I've begun making a week's worth on Sunday afternoon. The first week I stuck with tried and true - sausage and egg biscuits. My original intent was to buy a box of these little beauties in the freezer section and nuke them at will. However, when I saw the price (several dollars for two!) I decided to make my own, which turned out better than bought because I could add a little strawberry jelly to the biscuits providing something sweet to offset the spicy sausage patties. I also discovered that wrapping the sandwiches in parchment paper before stashing them in a plastic container in the fridge made them easier to pop in the microwave and carry out to the car for mobile consumption.

Last week I branched out a bit and made pigs-in-a-blanket breakfast style. I used sausage links and a couple cans of cinnamon rolls for the process, which was as easy as wrapping the coils of dough around two small turkey links before baking them in the oven. In the morning 20 seconds in the microwave made them perfectly edible.

This week I'm trying yet another variation. (My plan is to have at least five kinds of "sandwiches" through which I can rotate.) I began by popping 10 frozen waffles in the oven. (This ensured they were crispy and flat instead of soggy.) While these baked and cooled, I beat a softened package of cream cheese with a good deal of fig jam. (I just kept adding and tasting until I liked the balance.) Next, I spread the mixture (which would also be a great cake filling) on the waffles, being sure to fill all the little squares. After adding some thinly sliced ham (or use turkey breast) to five of  the waffles,  I covered them with the remaining waffles. Next, I cut all the sandwiches in half and wrapped them to create 10 breakfast goodies. I haven't warmed one up in the microwave yet, but the filling sure was good with a little left over ham. (Actually, I could see using this filling to create yummy appetizers like stuffed dates or ham rolls, or just eating it on a toasted English muffin.)

The goal, of course is to still have time for a decent breakfast even though we're starting our days earlier. After all, food is life.


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