I do not have time to spare in the mornings anymore. I want to be able to have some prayer time, exercise, and get most of the laundry done before breakfast. So, I’ve been trying to find ways to make the morning run more smoothly without a lot of hassle.

I was looking in my crockpot books for some ideas for dinner menus for the next couple of weeks and noticed that there weren’t any recipes for breakfast type foods. I just had to find out if there was anything else besides the oatmeal standby. Off to Google I went.

I found this recipe first and plan on trying it out tonight for tomorrow morning. http://www.thatsmyhome.com/slowcooker/morncas.htm  I have a lot of protein eaters to contend with, so it looks like it will be a hit. I am trying to avoid gluten for a couple of us, so I’m thinking most breakfasts will be eggs, meat, veggies, fruits, or corn type meals.

Yogurt and fruit will be an alternative to the crockpot meals. I may even try some of the make ahead and freeze recipes at . I have made taquitos in the past and put them into the freezer without any problems. But, we’re suffering from taquito burnout. ;0)

I do want to make some pancakes and waffles in bulk from time to time and freeze them in meal sized bags. That way, I can just do the fast food thing instead of a grand production. One big mess, but a bunch of meals. That sounds good to me. Clean it once!

If it ever cools off, I plan to make quite a few loaves of banana bread, coffee cakes, doughnuts, and other bread type items all at once and freeze them. If we have these once in a while, we don’t seem to get to bogged down by the “glue.” I can also use them for gifts or for quick get together events. Maybe I’ll have some MNO dates set for breakfast or afternoon tea. That would be fun. Having these things taken care of ahead of time will help me be more spontaneous. Is that possible?!?

I hope to find more ways to trim time wasters out of my day. I need more time for school with the kids. Even though our school routine is much simpler than it used to be, I still need to be available to them when questions, concerns, or problems arise. More time out of the kitchen will be a huge help! 

This site may be a start.  http://busycooks.about.com/cs/backtoschool/a/makebreak_2.htm  It has lots of ideas for the crockpot, make ahead, and freezer suggestions.  I'm excited about getting this part of the day in order.