Wednesday, July 9, 2008

quick freezer breakfast

Today the kids had apricot and pear oatmeal with banana bread french toast. I had made the oatmeal several days ago and the banana bread almost a month ago, and stored them both in the freezer.

apricot and pear oatmeal:
Combine 1 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup rolled oats, and 6-8 finely chopped dried apricots in a saucepan. Cook about 3 minutes then add 1 chopped pear. Blitz with an imersion blender for a smoother consistency.
To store, divide among several plastic baby food containers and stick in a labeled ziploc bag in the freezer.
To reheat, add a couple of tablespoons of whole milk to the oatmeal and pop in the microwave in 20 second intervals. Voila! Fast and tasty.

When I put away the bread, I cut it into narrow slices and stored them in a ziploc bag. The first few weeks the defrosted bread was just as good as (if not better than) when it was fresh. However, this morning I noticed that although it still had a pleasing taste the bread had become dry.

banana bread french toast:
combine 1 egg, slightly beaten, 1/3 cup whole milk, and a dash of nutmeg in a shallow dish. Dip each side of defrosted bread in mixture and place in a skillet on medium heat. cook about 2 minutes on each side. Let cool then chop into bite size pieces. The bread will still hold it's shape and is now as moist as ever.

2 comments:

Jen said...

Your kids eat *so* much better than I usually do! I can't remember the last time I had either oatmeal or french toast. I have two breakfasts, alternating every day: scrambled eggs and cereal. (In the summertime, though, I might get a little crazy and mix it up with a smoothie.)

I need to learn to do the same thing you do for the kids: make good meals and freeze them in individual servings!

Margaret said...

Yeah, there's some wisdom in this "do several day's cooking on a Sunday afternoon, and freeze it all" method. I'll have to try it sometime!