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About twelve years ago, I was on a mission to find the easiest and most convenient way to satisfy my children's hungry appetites. At that time, my fourth child was born, and she was only 15 months younger than the next in line. I had a newborn, a toddler, a five year old, and a nine year old. Looking back, I'm sure I would have given my front tooth for the simplest, most convenient way to feed my family. Sure, we took advantage of frozen and fast food; but that became old very quickly. My husband longed for "real" food, and, frankly, it gets expensive eating burgers and fries with a family of our size. Necessity mandated that I find ways to cheaply and quickly feed an army of six!
First, I tackled breakfast. The first meal of the day was the most frantic, with everyone getting ready for work or school and babies demanding attention. Although boxed cereal was convenient, it was also becoming expensive. As an alternate, I decided to make our own cereal. Every Sunday, I would make a large batch of the cereal and keep it in a plastic container for use throughout the week. The extra bonus of the cereal is that it doubled as a granola snack if eaten dry (without milk). I also made and refrigerated enough pancake mix for hot breakfasts throughout the week - sometimes I cooked the pancakes and froze them for quick microwave zapping. I also microwave a bowl of jam, and my kids prefer warm jam on their pancakes over maple syrup. This has been such a success that a decade later my children still prefer our cereal and pancakes to any others! Try the recipes below and see if you agree!
Granola
- 3 cups quick cooking oats
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup wheat germ
- 1/2 cup flaked coconut
- 1/4 cup light vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Combine oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, and coconut in a large baking dish.
Stir together oil, honey, and vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and mix together.
Microwave for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. After cooking, stir in raisins and nuts and store in a tightly covered container. Eat plain or serve with milk as a breakfast cereal.
Homemade Pancake Mix
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon sugar or brown sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons light vegetable oil
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Preheat griddle. Lightly beat together egg and sugar with a fork. Add remaining ingredients in the order listed, and stir until mixed (batter will be lumpy). Pour 1/4 batter onto hot griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top, turn and cook the other side until lightly brown. If desired, wrap and freeze pancakes for microwaving at a later time.
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