Back to School Gear Up

                              

Today has been a very productive day I must say. Much like most parents in the country, I am gearing up to send my children off to school tomorrow morning (YES!!...not really, I will miss them.) Today I have made homemade tomato sauce (lovingly simmered all day as if made by a little Italian grandmother), I have made mini meatballs for lunches later this week, chicken salad (again for lunches), a slow-roasted chicken which will be on the blog tomorrow, and I have two loaves of banana bread in the oven, and have cooked the bacon for the Urban Poser's Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies! 

I'd say that school prep is coming along swimmingly for my 4 kiddos (2 high schoolers and 2 elementary). And of course God has a sense of humor, so they all have to be out the door for school at the same time. This does make getting them fed easier since they are all on the same schedule. But, it also means that I don't have a ton of time to be cranking out pancakes either (although, I'm sure they wish that I did!) What works best for us to have breakfast basics pre-made and ready to go. In another life, my kids loved cereal--Captain Crunch, Cheerios, if it was full of "whole grains" and full of sugar, you can bet they loved it. The problem was that even before I changed the way we eat, I was fed up with buying it because a serving wasn't enough to fill them up, and they would go through a box each morning. I was tired of buying it. Fast forward to now, and with the modern miracle of Pinterest, I have found a few great paleo cereal recipes that are grain free, and low sugar. They best part is that they are filling, and my kids love them. Here are the two favorites: Cinnamon Pecan Crunch-Cavegirl Cuisine and Fruit & Chocolate Cereal With Honey Almond Clusters-Fast Paleo. Both of these are awesome, our favorite is the Cinnamon Pecan Crunch, and she has a few more recipes that I am going to make to add to the rotation. 

Another breakfast staple in the Polizzotti home are Mini Quiche. They are super easy to make, and my kids love them paired with fresh fruit salad. I will make these on a Sunday, and since I am feeding an army, I double the recipe, and make a ton so they can just grab them out of the fridge for breakfast throughout the week. This started out as a recipe that I got from my Mom, and over time it has morphed into something that we all love. So, without further adieu, I give you, Mini Quiche.

Equipment needed: Mini muffin pan. Mine makes 24.

Mini Quiche

1 pound of breakfast sausage OR 1 pound of uncured bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1 bunch of green onions, cleaned and chopped

1 clove of garlic, through garlic press, or finely minced

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach, finally chopped OR 1 cup of finely chopped broccoli

1 cup of cheddar cheese (I use an organic, cheese from pasture raised, grass fed cows)

12 eggs

1 cup of milk (again, organic, and grass-fed cows)

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

olive oil for brushing the insides of the muffin pan.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush olive oil inside the muffin tins and set aside. In a large skillet over med-high heat, brown your sausage, using a spoon to break it up into small pieces. While the sausage is cooking, in a large bowl, combine your veggies and cheese and set aside. 

When the sausage is cooked, remove from heat, and allow to cool down for about 5 minutes. While the sausage is cooling, in another bowl whisk together your eggs, milk, and S&P. 

After the sausage has cooled for 5 minutes, combine with the veggies and cheese (or combine your bacon with the veggies and cheese.) Spoon a scant tablespoon of the meat-veggie-cheese mixture into each cup of the muffin tin. 

Carefully pour the egg-milk mixture over the meat-veggies-cheese so that there is maybe 1/4-1/8" of room from the top.

                          

Place the pan in your preheated oven, and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until they have puffed up and are golden brown, or until the centers are set. Remove from oven, and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. 

After they are completely cooled, I place them in Ziploc bags and place into the refrigerator for breakfasts for the week. I have not personally froze these before, but my mom has tried to freeze hers and they were watery when she reheated them, so I do not recommend freezing. They should last a week in the fridge, but not really, because they will be gone before then! 

So, there you have it. Back to school gear up made easy. Good luck to everyone who has little ones, and not so little ones returning to school this year!

**I used sausage and spinach in these quiches. My kids hands down prefer the bacon though. In regard to the broccoli, be forewarned the broccoli will be pungent. My kids do not like the broccoli quiche, so if you are making these for picky eaters, definitely use the spinach! 

Also, due to the cheese and milk, these are not strict paleo, but still grain free. I would not omit the cheese, because that is what kind of constitutes quiche. Just be sure to use good quality ingredients. Good luck, and eat well.