Back To School Recipes

Breakfast:

For breakfast you can make your family these delicious and healthy Oatmeal Waffles. To save time during the week you can make them on the weekend and freeze them. On busy weekday mornings just pop them in the toaster for a healthy, homemade waffle during the week.

1 1/2 cups flour

2 packages maple brown sugar oatmeal plus enough plain oatmeal to make 1 cup total

1 Tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

6 Tbs melted butter

Directions: Mix together all the ingredients. Put in a greased pre-heated waffle iron until they are golden, about 5 min. If you are going to toast them later in the week you can take them out a little sooner. Try substituting other flavors of oatmeal like apples and cinnamon, blueberry, strawberries and cream, etc. for different flavors.

Dinner:

For a warm and healthy dinner try making your own chicken soup. You can use canned broth and add cut up chicken, carrots, celery, onion, and a starch such as rice, pasta, quinoa, etc. You can easily make your own stock too with the following recipe. 

Chicken bones (you can freeze the carcass of a roasted chicken and save it until you are ready to make the soup or you can buy a package of chicken wings or 2 small whole chickens)

3 stalks of celery

3 large carrots

1 large onion (cut in half)

1 head of garlic (cut in half)

1 bunch of parsley (stems and leaves)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Put all the ingredients in a large pot and then put enough water to cover. You do no need to peal and trim the vegetables. Just wash them and remove and bad parts.  Boil for several hours. Taste for seasoning (it may need more salt depending on how much water you have). You will know its done when the chicken is falling off the bones. Drain off the stock.  TIP: If you have a pasta liner for your large pot, you can put all the veggies and chicken above it so that you can easily remove everything once you are finished. 

You can look through the cooked vegetables and chicken mixture for lots of delicious pieces of chicken. You can use the chicken in the soup, pot pies, salad, and more. The vegetables have given all they can give and can be discarded.

Snack: 

For a healthy after school snack make these trail mix cookies.

Ingredients:

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups quick oats

1/4 cup nuts (minced peanuts or almonds work well)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup craisins

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs and combine. In a separate bowl combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Stir in the oats, nuts, fruit, and chocolate. Drop rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy these delicious and healthy favorites with your family. Let us know how they turned out.