Breakfast Recipes for your freezer and pantry

Breakfast Milkshakes

1 to 1 1/2 frozen bananas - preferably in two inch or smaller chunks
heaping soup spoonful of creamy peanut butter (I'm guessing 3 T.)
1/4 to 1/3 cup-ish of vanilla yogurt or same amount of plain yogurt and maybe 1/2 tsp. of vanilla 1 to 1 1/2 cups of milk

Blend until frothy and serve. Sometimes we serve in cups with straws.

It is really not a precise recipe. Danny uses more peanut butter. And we both like to add cinnamon and occasionally nutmeg as well. I've also added coconut oil. Hmm... I might put this post on hold while I make some.

Breakfast Burritos

one dozen eggs
1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
1 cup mild to medium salsa (cuz I can't stand the hot salsa)
8 oz. Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese grated

In a large skillet cook up the sausage. Do not drain. The grease is used to keep the eggs from sticking to the pan.

Break one dozen eggs into the pan with the sausage. Cook thoroughly. Turn off the heat.

Grate 8 oz. of cheese over the pan of eggs and sausage.

Dump one cup of salsa in. Mix it all up.

Using flour tortillas, spoon about 1/4 cup mixture into middle of each. Roll up and try to tuck ends of tortilla in as well. Freeze on a jelly roll pan (the cookie sheet with the edges). Remove from pan and put in freezer bags. To reheat and serve. Wrap a breakfast burrito in a paper towel and put in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Seriously, very hungry now. I'm back. You can also do the breakfast burritos with bacon. I think I used a full pound of bacon - minus what I nibbled on while the rest cooked up. With bacon I do remove some of the bacon grease. And I save it in a jar in the fridge. You can read about bacon grease in my Associated Content article.

French Toast

To freeze French toast, I let it cool on cooling racks (like you would put cookies on). When they are not hot anymore, I put a whole cooling rack in the freezer until the French toast freezes hard. When frozen, I remove the French toast and stack them back in their bread bag with a twist tie.

To serve: Put French toast in toaster oven or regular toaster. When warmed through serve with butter and syrup. Waffles and pancakes freeze and reheat well too this way. :)

Homemade Granola
4 cups rolled oats (I use 5 to stretch it a bit more)
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter or margarine -- pick the butter!
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (dissolved in melted butter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (high-altitude 350 degrees)
2. Mix oats, wheat germ, almonds, coconut, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, or in a glass bowl in the microwave, melt butter with salt and brown sugar, until sugar dissolves. Add vanilla to dissolved sugar mixture; pour over oat mixture and stir until well coated.
4. Lightly grease 9-by-13-inch pan and spread mixture in pan.
5. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until mixture begins to turn golden.
6. Cool completely; store in an air-tight container.
7. Serve cold with milk.

VARIATIONS: (1) Substitute vegetable oil for butter; and honey for sugar. (2) Omit any ingredient you dislike (with the exception of the oats!).

TIP: If you like raisins, currants, or chopped dates, stir 1/2 to 1 cup of one or more after baking so they won't dry out.

We like to double this recipe. I don't omit any ingredients and I do add raisins. When doubling the recipe I use the big Tupperware bowl. When I bake I use stoneware jelly roll pan and 9x13 pan. They don't fit on the same rack since there's twice as much. So I stir and alternate racks every time. When cereal is done baking, I cool on wax paper or opened up cereal bags that are flattened out.