Menu Monday and a Breakfast Parfait

I know that there are a lot of kids out there who could eat cold cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Buckaroo #3 would AND snack on it all day, if I let him. Buckaroo #1 on the other hand is very pick about eating so much cold cereal. He freaks if it gets too soggy. But breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? I'm not saying that cold cereal bad. It totally has a place on my menu. Monday mornings are always a pain at our house, so cold cereal it is. Thursday mornings, Buckaroo #1 has to be to school 45 minutes earlier than Buckaroo #2 for guitar lessons, so it's a cold cereal day. Then we have Saturday. Once again it is on my menu as a backup if mom hasn't rolled out of bed yet and they need to get their own breakfast. (Although, most Saturdays The Trail Boss makes them their favorite, Ham and Egg Sandwiches.) As for the rest of the days of the week, I try to mix it up a little, but still keep it simple. I used to feel a little bad about feeding them frozen or prepackaged stuff, but they take a healthy home lunch 4 out of 5 days, a balanced dinner at home and healthy snacks, so I try not to feel to guilty about it. Besides, my sanity is a bit more important when I'm trying to get everybody off to school on time! :)

Here's what a typical week of breakfasts look like on my menu...
MONDAY -Cold Cereal, Fresh Fruit
TUESDAY -Frozen Waffles (cut into strips for dipping) or leftover Pancakes or French Toast, Syrup, Fruit
WEDNESDAY -Instant Oatmeal, Fruit
THURSDAY -Cold Cereal, Fresh Fruit
FRIDAY -Fruit, Granola and Yogurt Parfait or Yogurt, Fresh Fruit and Toast
SATURDAY -Cold Cereal, Fresh Fruit
SUNDAY -Hot Cooked Breakfast

Their favorite new addition to the menu is the Breakfast Parfait. It a fun, healthy way to change things up a bit. It's also EASY to throw together when you make a little assembly line. Change the flavor of the yogurt, the granola/cereal or the fruit and it can be a whole new creation each time. Here's a pic of one of The Trail Boss and Buckaroo #2's favorite combinations.

It has Mandarin Oranges, Sunbelt Berry Basics cereal and Vanilla Yogurt. Buckaroo #1 and The Littlest Cowgirl like sliced Bananas, Sunbelt Banana Nut Granola cereal and Yogurt. There's just so many possibilities!

Give it a try and let me know what your favorite combinations are!

FRENCH WAFFLES

We LOVE French Toast at our house. We LOVE Waffles, too. So when I saw recipe for French Waffles (from Better than Burgers), I knew I had to try 'em. There hasn't been a recipe yet from their blog that I've tried and we didn't like!
I didn't even tweak the recipe, at least not much. I'll tell you what I changed below. I mostly changed it because of calories and just because I needed to use up what I had in my fridge.
I  also LOVE that we inherited The Trail Boss' Grandma's waffle iron. For some reason they just taste better.


1 loaf of bread
1 1/2 cups Egg Beaters (BTB used 4 eggs)
1 cup evaporated milk (BTB used 1 pint of heavy cream or half-n-half)
1/2 cup water
2 t. vanilla
3 Tbs Splenda (BTB used 3 Tbs sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon
Butter flavored pan coating (any type will work, I just like the butter flavor)
Your favorite toppings


Mix Egg Beaters, evaporated milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and Splenda together. Spray your waffle iron with pan coating. Dip slices of bread into Egg Beater mixture and place onto the waffle iron and put the top down. Since you've probably made waffles before, I'm sure you can take it from here. I did cook them on a little bit lower temperature setting so they were sure to cook all the way through.
 We just had good old Mrs. Butterworth's on top and they were DELICIOUS! If you have any leftover (notice I said IF) throw 'em in the fridge and stick 'em in the toaster the next morning.
Quick and easy!

BREAKFAST PIZZA

Yeah, you heard me. Oh-My-Gosh! This stuff is AWESOME!
When Buckaroo #2 and I were putting this together, I thought it sounded pretty good, but I was trying not to get my hopes too high. I figured it would be tasty, but according to everyone else at the table it was WAY more than just tasty. Even Buckaroo #1 LOVED it. (And that rarely happens.)
It's not a super simple recipe, but it's well worth it!

Here's what I used:

Your favorite pizza dough (homemade, from a box, from your favorite pizza place, or whatever you like)
6 eggs, scrambled and cooked
1 lb ground sausage, cooked and drained 
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and chopped in about 1 inch pieces
2 green onions, sliced
1 pgk country gravy mix, (follow directions on the pkg, nothing fancy)
2 cups shredded cheese (your favorite or just whatever you have handy- I used Colby jack)
Olive oil

Here's how to put it together:

Spray your sheet pan with a lilttle non-stick spray. You can sprinkle some cornmeal on if you'd like, but I forgot. Anyway, spread your dough out to the edges and corners.
Next, drizzle some olive oil over the crust and brush it around to cover. (just a light coating)
Pour on your cooked gravy and spread it all around.
Layer your remaining ingredients onto the crust ending with the cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until crust is done to your liking and the cheese is all gooey and melty.
Let it rest for a few minutes after you pull it out of the oven so it will be easier to cut.

Ok, here's a picture. I didn't want anyone to be too distracted by all the melty gooeyness that they couldn't finish reading.

It's like any other pizza in that you can design it how ever you like it, but I gotta tell ya that the gravy really made it great. Hope you'll give this one a try for breakfast or dinner, and let me know how ya liked it and what you put on yours.
Have fun!