Tawra…thanks so much for all your wonderful ideas on frugal living. I have been loving your newsletter for several months now…I am a busy mom working 2 jobs and trying to be a great parent as well…thanks for helping us all focus on what is TRULY important.
Our families breakfast FAST FAVORITES:
Last year when my oven went on the fritz and we couldn’t afford a new one, I bought a TOASTER OVEN and fell in love with all the wonderful things you can do with it!!!
I bought a muffin pan from Dollar General that makes 6 perfect muffins in the magical toaster oven in the mornings. I love the inexpensive Muffin mixes, and have found a Mayberry’s Classics line for .88 a bag that has muffins like Lemon Ice Box, Peach Cobbler, French Toast, and Chocolate Chip…SUPER CHEAP…& simple…just add milk and they are done in 10 minutes!!! My family is small so the 6 muffins usually last 2 days. Not to mention not having to wait to heat up the whole gas oven for a small batch of muffins.
I also love my 8″ non-stick skillet…small enough for the perfect omelet.. I cut a pack of bacon in half and cook a few strips in the morning then crack 2 eggs and top with cheese, then throw it on bread for a quick breakfast sandwich to go for my HUBBY…and nothing gets him up like the smell of BACON in the house!! Done in under 5 minutes…
I like to use turkey sausage, egg whites & salsa for a quick breakfast burrito. Same pan, just give it a quick rinse and ready for the next order!
I also will often make BREAKFAST FOR DINNER and make extra pancakes or make burritos from left over sausage gravy and scrambled eggs and put it in the freezer for quick FROZEN breakfasts!
It helps get everybody off on a good foot…I also only allow POSITIVE things in the morning at home…no NEWS…no NEGATIVITY…only positive things to start everyone off with a SMILE…because those are still FREE and worth a MILLION!!! I also cut out Cartoons or positive thoughts (hide in silverware drawer for easy access) and stick them in everyone’s lunches for RANDOM HAPPINESS… Thanks again for all your inspiration… Much LOVE & Many BLESSINGS!!!
Lauri
We know many of you have your favorite quick breakfasts too so let us know what they are to give us some more great ideas.
For more ideas check out these posts:
Lauri,
Loved it! I have often wondered the benefit of a toaster oven. Selfishly, I hate appliances sitting on the countertop so I have resisted. Your morning inspiration has me rethinking my resistance.
When I heat the oven, I am often contemplated, “Oh how much electricity is this using? Or, what else could I be baking right now?”
Your frugalness is to be admired. Great job with less!
I like the toaster oven soo much, For a long time it was mom and I and we don’t need 3 dz cookies so we would bake like 6 or so at a time and it would be perfect for us. Personally the toaster oven is soo great because you don’t have to stand there like you would with a stove to turn everything. It depends on the size and type of oven but they are miracle workers for small familys.
Jill and Tawra, Did you ever hear the song “The whole world needs a kitchen” by Craig Morgan? Reminds me of you both, and this blog. Listen to it on You Tube.
i always get confused of how to turn bread mixes into cakes and cake mixes into either breads or pound cakes and cookies ..
and yes i have a toaster oven too .. love it! .. esp if ur cooking/baking small items .. :D
Rose I’m not totally sure what you are asking but I will post a recipe where you can use a cake mix for banana bread. I’m not sure if you can use a bread mix for a cake. Usually bread and cake mixes use a different type of flour (bread flour for the bread mix and cake or all purpose flour for cake). When you use bread flour it will make your cake if will give you a tough cake so this is why I’m not sure about using bread mix for anything but bread.
Here is a recipe though for using a cake mix to make banana bread. Pretty much what you do is exchange the water for the bananas on the back of the cake mix.
Banana Bread from a Cake Mix
1 (18 oz) pkg cake mix (yellow, white, or butter pecan)
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all for 2 minutes. Pour into a greased 5.25 x 9 x 2.75 loaf pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely. Makes 1 large loaf.
Here is another version
1 white or yellow cake mix
3 bananas
2 eggs
1/4 c. water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all for 2 minutes. Pour into a greased 5.25 x 9 x 2.75 loaf pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely. Makes 1 large loaf.
Lauri–thanks for sharing your breakfast ideas. I too love my toaster oven. Hate the counter space it takes up; next toaster oven will be an under the cabinet mounted one.
Your muffin story reminded me of a particularly lean time when I was stressing over what to fix for breakfasts. When I went food shopping I noticed boxed muffin mixes. The name was Rag-a-Muffins. Anyway they were on clearance for 4 cents a box. I couldn’t believe it. I bought all they had (114 boxes). Then went to a sister store & bought 77 more at the same price. Flavors were apple, blueberry, banana and bran. We had muffins a lot–then one day I made the batter a little thinner & we had pancakes. Added a little flour & baking powder another time & made waffles that I froze for hectic mornings. The best part was they didn’t need eggs in the mix. All I needed to add was milk. I was so grateful. Sending the kids to school hungry would have been awful.
I’ve been reheating food in a large mug. The handle stays nice and cool, and it does hold oatmeal nicely.
My kids favourite breakfast is so quick and easy.
I add to a pan for each person:
½ cup rolled oatmeal,
1 cup water,
1 tsp raisins,
dust of cinnamon
Cook for 2 minutes until it comes together niceley.
Serve in a bowl, with cold milk or oats milk (they are allergic to dairy) with lots of chopped apples, or if I am really rushed some apple sauce.
For those who wish it is nice with some brown sugar or honey on top, or even added into the pan when cooking.
If I add some hazelnuts or sunflower seeds (I think any nut or seed would do nicely, those are the cheapes here) to it they don’t really need any other protein in the morning, oats have some protein, the nuts certainly do as does the milk, especially if you have real milk and not oat milk.
We really do breakfasts differently in Sweden. I do think it is great to see what you do in the US though, gives me some ideas. I have started making “american pancakes” for my kids for saturday breakfast after reading on this site and they absolutely love it. Thank you for this really great source of inspiration. The comments from readers are also really helpful, and fun to read!
I have been researching home made mixes, preserving etc and realized the only breakfast cereal I could stock pile was oatmeal. Now I have found a couple of recipes on the web for home made cornflakes
Haven’t tried them yet but wondered Jill and Tawra if either of you or other readers had explored these items.
I used to mix up a very basic, toss-all-the-ingredients-in-one-bowl recipe for Johnny cake and put it into a well greased cast iron frying pan, then baked it in a pre-heated oven until done, (about 25 min.) while we all got dressed in the morning. When golden brown, I just put the pan on a trivet in the middle of the kitchen table. I cut the cake into squares and served it with a dab of butter and pancake syrup. Use whole wheat or part whole wheat flour for more nutrition. Can be served with fresh fruit or a breakfast meat, but often passed as a whole breakfast with milk or juice, and coffee.