Easy Breakfast Ideas

Easy Breakfast Recipes

Isn’t it amazing how much of a difference breakfast choices can make in your morning?  Our family found this out about 18 months ago when I started working from home, which finally gave me the chance to actually cook something in the morning instead of just pour a quick bowl of cereal and milk.  I’ve especially been amazed at how much better I feel when I start the day with protein… after having eaten cereal for breakfast for almost every day of my life, it’s been very obvious that protein in the morning helps me stay full, have more energy, and avoid the mid-morning “sugar crash” that I didn’t even realize was happening to me.

Here are a few of our family’s go-to breakfast ideas that pack plenty of nutrition into each bite:

Pumpkin Pancakes with Chocolate Milk

One recipe that we really love is Better Homes and Garden’s Pumpkin Pancakes recipe.  The canned pureed pumpkin and 3-egg content (more eggs than in most pancakes) give them an extra boost of protein, and we usually add to that by having milk (or chocolate milk!) with them.  Approximate time to make and cook these is only about 15 minutes.

Egg Sandwiches

I’ve been trying to perfect my fried-egg technique (flipping them without breaking the yolk, so that the yolk is still intact and a little runny when you bite into it) but it’s hit-or-miss each time.  But even if I do break the yolk, it just cooks up a little more firmly, which is what I prefer for my toddler anyway.  But this recipe is super-easy: toast 4 slices of bread, slice up 1 tomato as thin as you can, fry up 4 eggs, and then layer each piece of toast with (in this order) shredded or sliced cheddar cheese, the hot egg, tomato slices, and finish with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.  So tasty, and these only take about 10-15 minutes as well!

Biscuits and Gravy

I never had biscuits and gravy outside of a restaurant until I got married and discovered that it was my husband’s very favorite breakfast food.  I’ve spent the past 8 years trying to get them just right, and I’ve finally hit upon a winning technique.  This recipe calls for more time (about 30-40 minutes) so it’s best for weekend mornings.  But here’s what I do:

-Biscuits: follow the directions on the Bisquick box to make a batch

-Sausage: While the biscuits are cooking for 9 minutes, I then brown a pound of Jimmy Dean regular breakfast sausage.

-Gravy: This is just mixing flour with milk.  I’ve found that the best ratio is about 1 heaping tablespoon of flour for every 1 cup of milk.  Put the flour in a mixing bowl first, and then pour in the milk.  Beat thoroughly with a fork until it’s as smooth as possible.  Then pour this mixture into the sausage pan and cook over low-medium heat.  Add about 4 cups of the milk/flour mixture in total.  The gravy must be stirred continuously once it starts to bubble, otherwise it’ll get all weird and lumpy.  Stir until it thickens and it’s ready to serve!  SO delicious and definitely a protein-filled way to start the day!

Let me know if you try any of these recipes and if your family likes them.  Happy breakfasting!