If you are a homeschooler, you are probably like me when it comes to breakfast and lunch.  I want a filling and healthy meal to feed my kids, but I want it fast so that we can get back to the books.  After burning my kids out on cereal, oatmeal, soup and peanut butter and jelly,  I knew I had to do something different or my troops were going to rebel.  I asked  other homeschoolers for ideas for quick breakfasts and lunches. Here are some of the terrific ideas that they came up with.  I am printing this out and putting it in my planner.

Lunch:

• Little Pizzas--  Slices of bread, toasted on both sides (we toast on cookie sheets in oven--under broiler ... you can toast a lot of bread this way--fast!), top with favorite pizza sauce and cheese, then heat till the cheese melt.  Viola!  Pizza quick!  You can even add pepperoni, or whatever you like.

• Make-Your-Own Pizza with refrigerated biscuits as the crust.  You can spoon spaghetti sauce over them and let kids put on the toppings of their choice.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake.

• Chunky Style soups over noodles or rice.

• Toasted bread or bagel spread with no or low fat cream cheese slice apple and layer on top of each slice of bread or bagel sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and if desired you can drizzle honey on and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

• Toasted cheese sandwiches or steakums on bread w/ melted cheese.

• Tuna fish salad sandwiches

• Fluffernutters (peanut butter w/ marshmallow fluff sandwich)

• Any sandwich served with any soup and a piece of fruit.

• Fast spaghetti:  Brown one pound of ground beef and drain.  Add 1 jar of Ragu or Prego with chunky vegetables. One can of tomato paste,  one can of water, and two 8oz cans flavored tomato sauce. Heat for about 10 minutes. while boiling your pasta.   Serve over pasta.  Add a tossed salad and a piece of fruit and a glass of milk.  Balanced dinner.  Takes about 25 minutes.

• Quicky tuna noodles.  Prepare two packages of macaroni and cheese boxed mixes as directed.  Add a can of tuna and a spoonful of sour cream. OR boil a package of noodles and drain, put back in pan and add 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, can of tuna and sour cream if desired.  You can also mix the soup flavors.

• A tortilla with refried beans & cheese----just pop it in the mircrowave and tada!....lunch.  Sometimes, just cheese melts on tortilla or bread works very quickly and maybe a little sprinkle of taco seasoning on top.

• We have Ramen Noodle soup, Toasted cheese sandwiches and other sandwiches made in our sandwich maker.

• I make up burritos, English muffin pizzas made ahead and freeze them so all I have to do is pull them out and put them in the microwave. Also make up a bunch of meatballs and freeze. Use these in Pastaroni (like you can get in cans, but its much better and cheaper to make!)

• There is a book out called Once-A-Month Cooking  by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Lagerborg.  You could use some of the ideas for lunch too.

• A lot of fast foods are available at the supermarket.... Pizza rolls, bagel bites, fish sticks, mac and cheese.

• Carrot and celery sticks, fruit, applesauce and cottage cheese or other cheeses with crackers.

• Our supermarket sells Udon soup packages in the tofu area - they are actually better than ramen, and an 89 cent package will feed two. You just heat them up in the water with the seasoning, and then just before serving add some veggies or meat leftovers (our favorite are fresh peas, carrots, imitation crab and hard-boiled egg cut in wedges.) Sounds weird, but it's really good!

• Toast Hawaii: On a piece of toast put a slice of ham (bologna will do in a pinch), add a ring of pineapple, fill the little hole in the middle of the pineapple with ketchup, top with a slice of cheese, broil until the cheese is melted.

• Quesadillas: spread two flour tortillas with butter, sprinkle one with grated cheddar cheese, throw the other on top sandwich style, cook in a dry frying pan until the cheese is melted. Serve with hot sauce, sour cream guacamole, or salsa.

• Pigs in a blanket: roll two refrigerator biscuits out thin, wrap around a hot dog, bake until the biscuits are cooked through.  (You can also add a slice of cheese inside the "blanket".)

• Grilled cheese with a twist: Use brie cheese instead of the usual cheddar or Cheese food substitute, serve with sliced pear (this is actually on of those things I get severe cravings for sometimes! :-)

• My kids' favorite soup: leftover mashed potatoes from the night before, add milk until you have a nice consistency, add several slices of cheese until they are melted : Tada, Potato-Cheese soup.  You can also just use canned cheddar cheese soup from Campbell's and add the leftover mashed potatoes to that.

• I also use my sandwich maker a lot (small appliance) - you just take two slices of bread and whatever leftovers you have, and it turns them into nice little triangular sandwich pockets - and since my kids can usually not identify everything in there, they will actually eat stuff that they usually not even look at.

•   Fix one box Mac n' cheese, add one can tuna, OR ham, Or turkey....

Breakfast:

• Toad in a Hole -- Cut a circle in a piece of bread, place in a hot skillet, add one egg....Cook until 3/4 done, flip and finish cooking.  YYYuummmmm. (You could also use cookie cutters to cut the center out in interesting shapes.) A side note.... in my house we butter both sides of the cutout part and fry it too. This is very yummy by itself, but a little jelly or honey on the cutout is delicious.

• Pancake batter can be mixed up in the evening.  Makes pancakes in the morning a snap...  just turn the skillet on and cook.

• "Just a Handful Breakfast". It can easily be assembled by children the night before. I always cook 4-5 extra potatoes when we have them for dinner.  This serves 4 people, but can easily be increased to serve more, just add more handfuls :)  Simply chop potatoes  (4 -5 med. potatoes, pre-cooked) and spread into a oiled baking pan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Layer, a handful of leftover ham, chicken, sausage, steak, roast, whatever meat is left from the previous night's dinner.  A handful of chopped onion,  a handful of chopped bell pepper, a handful of leftover veggies like broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas or corn from  the night before.  In a bowl whisk 5-6  eggs with, you guessed :) a handful of shredded cheese.  Pour over the potatoes, etc... Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and knife inserted into middle comes out clean. This can easily be made the night before, stored in the refrigerator and popped into the oven the next morning. Great with fresh muffins or quick bread and fruit.

• What we do for breakfast is one day a week I will make pancakes or French toast and freeze it (just like the stores sell .Then every morning the kids can put the amount they want in the microwave or the toaster (it comes out better). It is good and you get so much more for your money than buying the stuff the grocer sells.

• This may not sound fast because you have to bake it for an hour.  But you prepare it the night before, so it is easy to sneak downstairs and put it in the oven before everyone gets up.  You can also add sausage too.  We used to multiply it for church breakfast.

Bonnie's 24-Hour Omelet

1 loaf challah or other large, white, fairly dense bread, crusts removed
8 T butter
1 8-ounce pkg. cream cheese, chunked  (bigger chunks are better 3/4" x 3/4")
1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 lb jack cheese, shredded
2 cups milk
10 eggs
1/2 t salt
1/2 t dry mustard
dash cayenne pepper (optional)
1 heaping T chives

Tear bread in chunks.  Place evenly in a well-greased 13X9X2-inch baking
dish.  Melt butter and pour over bread.  Sprinkle with cheeses and
milk.  Beat together eggs, salt, mustard, pepper and chives.  Pour over
bread and cheese.  Refrigerate covered, overnight.  Bake covered, in
preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until egg mixture is set.  Uncover
for the last 10 minutes of baking time.  Serves 10 to 12.
 
 

There you go!  No excuse for peanut butter and jelly anymore.
(Unless of course, that is what your kids want.)  Thank you to my TUAC friends,
Birgit, Tami, Linda, Traci, Donna, Cyndy, Kathy, Lisa, and Pete
for contributing to this list of ideas. If you have any quick breakfast or lunch ideas you'd like to contribute, please write me.  Thank you! Thank you to Becki's Garden of Graphics for the clip art you see on this page.