We all have challenges in our home keeping life.  One of those challenges for me has always been breakfast. Really, I have always been pretty challenged in the kitchen.  Meal time wasn’t a joyous time for me growing up and the first years of my marriage I was very nervous at the table.  Of course, time at my husband’s meal table has changed me.  I know now that I am safe there and it is okay that I come just as I am.  Still, preparing food wasn’t ever a joy to me.  I struggled to know what to make, how to organize my kitchen, how to make a meal plan and on and on and on.

So, back to breakfast…..  I am NOT a morning person at all!  Thankfully, the Lord has brought me to a point of realizing that I must sacrifice that old self and face the morning anyways…not just face it, but with a heart of joy.  I guess the Lord knew that this would be one good area in my life to use in the teaching me to put others before my self. 

In order to do this, though, I had to come up with some solutions.  We are all wired differently.  My husband wakes up with a huge smile and is ready to get all his talking in within the first hour of the day.  I, on the other hand, can hardly pull myself together enough to mutter more than a pleasant, smiling “good morning”.  I was so convicted in my heart to be rising in the morning and being sure that my family was provided with a nourishing breakfast before their days began; yet found myself so discouraged about trying to do so.

It is really actually very simple and certainly wasn’t my own idea!  I get breakfast prepared the day before!  Oh!  You were expecting some NEW idea, weren’t you!?  No, not a new idea, BUT has been the answer for me!  I set a simple breakfast menu for our week.  We eat things like muffins, eggs, pancakes (which my oldest daughter now makes), baked oatmeal etc…For things like pancakes and baked oatmeal, the batter can be made the night before.  Our muffins are our favorite and we make TONS of them at one time to freeze.  I also make things the day before like honey and oat rolls, cinnamon rolls(when I am short on time and unable to make bread I use the biscuit mix I will provide here to make the rolls and it is OH so yummy!) and coffee cake.

Today I thought I would share a bulk recipe for the banana muffins and applesauce muffins that we made today.  We froze most of the applesauce muffins but set some aside to have with our barley vegetable soup today! YUM! YUM!

Banana Muffins

(makes 72 muffins)

Blend together:

8 ripe bananas

8 eggs

4 cups brown sugar (the darker it is the healthier it is)

2 cups melted butter (I sometimes use coconut oil)

4 tsp vanilla

Mix and then add to banana mixture:

9 cups flour (I have used unbleached white, whole wheat pastry flour or oat flour)

8 tsp aluminum free baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp salt

To add a bit of variety you can add 4 cups of another fruit (don’t leave out the bananas!) like chopped apples or blueberries.

Spoon into a greased muffin tin.  I use a cookie scoop to drop batter in tin.  Bake 25~30 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before dividing into freezer bags.

Applesauce Muffins

(makes 48 muffins)

Blend::

4 eggs

1 cup oil

4 cups applesauce

2 cups honey

Mix and then add to applesauce mixture:

7 cups whole grain pastry flour (pastry flour is very finely ground)

2 tsp soda

3 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp sea salt

6 tsp baking powder

1 tsp nutmeg

Spoon into a greased muffin tin.  I use a cookie scoop to drop batter in tin.  Bake 25~30 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before dividing into freezer bags.

 I have set muffin mornings and take out the muffins the evening before.  One can serve these alone OR if you have strapping, growing little men like myself, you may want to choose to add a bowl of pineapple chunks and some milk with it.

Remember, the healthier and more nutritious filled the meal, the more filling it will be!

Another great breakfast is biscuits and honey OR biscuits and gravy.  You will LOVE these biscuits!  It is a bulk recipe for the mix.  I got the recipe from Marmee Dear’s FABULOUS book called, “Martha’s Family Cookery Book”.  This book has ALL kinds of recipes separated under each day of the week to help out with menu planning.  This is my ALL time favorite book in my kitchen!  You can find it at  Marmee Dear's.

Homemade Biscuit Mix

Stir together:

5 lbs. unbleached all purpose flour

2~1/2 cups dry milk powder

¾ cup aluminum free baking powder

3 T salt

2 T cream of tartar

½ cup sugar (I use raw sugar)

Cut in:

2 lbs. vegetable shortening (I use butter)

Store is a tightly covered container and use like you would store bought biscuit mix.  I add water or milk until it is the perfect consistency for rolling out and cutting.  Don’t twist when cutting as this will prevent them from rising well!  Also, be sure to place them close together on a baking sheet so when they are baking they rise more!

I would love to hear your breakfast ideas!  Sitting around the table with family is such a lovely way to start the day.  I may not say much during this time, but my heart is filled up in a way that I would be missing out on if I chose myself instead!

Many blessings!