1m2aSandbox

Thursday afternoons often find us at the school playground after school, and yesterday was no exception. Determined to enjoy the mild weather before last night’s storm moved through, we hung around for a while, snacking and playing with friends. Or I should say, I sat on a bench and basked in the sun while the girls played with friends.

And some not-so-friendly people.

Maddie and her friend Elise found two older boys – fifth graders!- on one side of the playground, tossing a football back and forth. At first the girls just watched the boys play, but after a couple minutes the girls wanted to see if they could join in.

We’ve been talking over the past week about the breakfast dilemma: namely, how to get a hot, filling meal on the table without getting up at the crack of dawn on a school day. Last week I gave you the recipe for homemade (and fast, once they’re pre-made!) egg mcmuffins, and today I give you another egg-based recipe – the egg pancake.

This is high on protein and super-low on difficulty. It’s not a crepe-like pancake, but a thick, hearty one. This recipe makes one egg pancake, which the girls will split most mornings along with a glass of juice and perhaps a slice of banana bread; if they’re super-hungry the girls might eat a whole one for lunch, for example.

We’re talking about how to get a hot, filling breakfast on the table in fifteen minutes or less. Today’s the first installment, and while it’s not under fifteen minutes prep time, it’s waay less than that in the morning, so here goes.

I’m a big believer in cooking ahead – I try to double a recipe and freeze half, or spend one morning every couple of weeks preparing a few big meals. I also like to cook ahead – do some prep work – on the weekend to get ready for the coming week: I love serving good meals, but hate pulling them together in the evening.

Same goes for mornings.

All this week Maddie’s been doing some standardized testing in school – the things we hate but have to go through to keep our state funding. And every night when Maddie has me sign her homework folder, I see where it says in big letters: GET TO BED EARLY TONIGHT. EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST TOMORROW MORNING.

And Maddie has said, anxiously, “I need to eat a good breakfast tomorrow!” To which I reply, “Maddie, you always eat a good breakfast.”

“Oh, yeah,” she says, “I do.”